


Miraculous Trucks

by MoonalineMariaGia2004



Series: Miraculous Trucks [1]
Category: Blaze and the Monster Machines, Miraculous Ladybug, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Crusher Needs a Hug, F/F, F/M, Gabriel Salt, Kimax - Freeform, Lila salt, M/M, Marigami, Zeb X Ezra, Zezra, alya x Nino - Freeform, blaze x darington, blazington, crickle, crusher x pickle, gabby x aj, gabj, lukadrien, watts x starla, wattsla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29529327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonalineMariaGia2004/pseuds/MoonalineMariaGia2004
Summary: The cat and ladybug miraculous had been whisked away to a place called Axle City. Ezra lends Marinette and Adrien a hand to get them back, but he's not the only one who tracked him down. Desperate to hide them from Hawkmoth, he chooses the new Ladybug and Chat Noir. Miraculous Ladybug X SWR PADU AU X Blaze and the Monster Machines Crossover
Relationships: AJ & Blaze (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Blaze/Darington (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Boleena Rash/Gaila Felinicia (OC), Crusher (Blaze and the Monster Machines) & Ezra Bridger, Crusher (Blaze and the Monster Machines) & Ezra Bridger & Darington (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Crusher/Pickle (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Ezra Bridger/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Gabby/AJ (Blaze and the Monster Machines), Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim, Starla/Watts (Blaze and the Monster Machines)
Series: Miraculous Trucks [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169378
Kudos: 3





	1. Note

**_Note:_ **

_If you guys are confused about the SWR PADU AU then let me give you a brief summary about it (it's important so you won't ask questions to why or how or anything):_

_PADU AU: Ezra has been working for as a Lieutenant at an organization called the Protectors of Alternate Dimensions and Universes (PADU) since he was 7, alongside his best friend General Gia, who was a princess of a planet called Edokyopan in the Unknown Regions, a doctor of Lothal and the niece of Zeb, and her wife Commader Boleena, who was a Jedi Assassin, a doctor of Lothal, and the cousin of Thrawn. This is Post-Rebels, and Ezra and Thrawn ended up on Earth, in Axle City. Thrawn adopts Ezra, Crusher and Darington as his own (with the permission of his husband Eli, of course) then he and Ezra time-travelled back to the SWR universe to get back the Rebellion/Empire. Zeb and Ezra are married, which made Zeb also work for PADU as an honorary agent, and they have twins, named Zelda and Elvis, and their youngest Ephysem Zoom. Oh! And Zeb is the king of Lira San after being chosen when the royal family were killed off, so Ezra is (male) queen._

_If there are any other questions about my PADU AU then feel free to comment! :D_

_As for how Ezra, Boleena, Gia and Zeb got to Paris, I'll give the abrupt summary;_

_"Ezra, Boleena, Gia and Zeb went to Paris to help Ladybug and Chat Noir defeat Hawkmoth, with Ezra getting the dragon miraculous and becoming Yojimbo, Boleena getting the snake miraculous and becoming Viperia, Gia getting the mouse miraculous and becoming Mousecat and Zeb getting the tiger miraculous and becoming Wildfur. They also helped them with their love lives, so that it would stop whatever chaotic future it may make (like Chat Blanc and Miracle Queen), getting Marinette and Kagami together, along with Adrien and Luka. They also got Lila exposed, which got her grounded and expelled from the school. One day, Lila gets akumatized into Volpina again, trapping the Miss Bustier's class in their classroom. Marinette and Adrien had no choice but to expose themselves, as did Ezra, Boleena and Gia (who all entered the school to go undercover). Alya, Nino, Kagami (who had transferred to their school), Luka (who was helping as a teacher's assisstant), Max, Kim, and Alix were also compromised of their secret superhero lives. When they did, Hawkmoth discovered who they are (but they don't know who he is, except Ezra, Boleena, Gia and Zeb, who knew who he was from the get-go. Tough luck, huh?) Most of their parents were understanding (even Tomoe, who praised her daughter for being the warrior she had always dreamed for her to be) while Gabriel decided to play cool and act fine, even when he didn't approve his own SON being Chat Noir while planning for a way to get the miraculous of the ladybug and the black cat..."_

_Also, another thing; Alya, Nino, Kim, Max, and Chloe kept their miraculous. Why? 'Cause why not, and Chloe has been REDEEMED! I stan Chloe sugar! (Lmao, just need it for this story XD) Also, Alix got hers too. Too early, but eh, I don't mind._

_Enjoy the rest of the story!_

**_I DO NOT OWN BLAZE AND THE MONSTER MACHINES, STAR WARS REBELS AND MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!_ **


	2. To Axle City

Ezra knew something felt wrong when he woke up that morning.

Well, for starters, the Force was buzzy. Buzzier than usual. It rang into his ears, sinking into his mind and pounding into his brain. It annoyed him, making him grumpy all morning. Zeb tried to ask if something was bothering him, but Ezra shrugged off the issue as if it was nothing.

It HAD been nothing, after all. The issue was soon laid in front of him the moment he, Gia and Boleena got to school.

The whole group was in front of the entrance. Marinette looked frantic. Adrien looked just as stressed out. Alya, Nino, Chloe, Kagami, Luka, Max, and Kim were all gathered around them, exchanging worried glances while Luka hugged the blonde to comfort him, and Kagami held the shaking designer girl.

"What do you think happened?" Gia asked.

"I... don't know," Boleena frowned.

"I'll find out," Ezra offered, hissing as the Force practically screamed at him to walk to them to investigate.

"Thanks, Ez," Gia grinned. "Bo and I excuse everyone until the issue is sorted out,"

"And it seems like the Force wants you to, anyway," Boleena chuckled, noticing the annoyed aura around the blunet.

"Oh, don't I know it," Ezra sighed and waved them goodbye then he turned to head over to the group.

Max was telling Markov for a tracker of some sort by the time he was close to them. Kim had an arm around him, concern on his face as he glanced back at Marinette and Adrien. It took a while, but soon, he spotted the blunet near them.

"Oh, hey, Ezra,"

"What happened, guys?" Ezra crossed his arms.

"It's the ladybug and black cat miraculous," Max answered for his jock boyfriend, turning to him whilst adjusting his glasses. "They've seemed to have miraculously gone missing!"

Ezra expected many things. For Marinette, her designs missing or sabotaged. For Adrien, his father grounding him for not telling him that he was the Chat Noir the whole time. But this? No, he didn't expect this.

Or maybe he did, but only for Adrien's sake.

"Did Hawkmoth do it?"

"We're not sure," Alix spoke up, joining them with a furrowed expression. "I tried to have Bunnyx search for it from last night's timeline, but there was nothing! Nothing at all! Just a poof, and blammo! They disappeared!"

"They can't have just disappeared!" Chloe huffed. "That is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

"I agree with Chloe," Kagami nodded. "Disappearance of magical jewels into thin air is just... not possible,"

"But... But then where could it be?!" Marinette hissed, wiping her tears. "I even checked my drawer, and the box where my miraculous was is also gone!"

"Same with mine!" Adrien whimpered, sinking his boyfriend's arms. "Who could've taken it...?"

"Any why only the cat and the ladybug miraculous?" Luka wondered, his grip on the blonde tightening. "We were all compromised. If anything, Hawkmoth should've taken ALL of our miraculous,"

"And why the boxes too?" Alya frowned. "The miraculous being taken would make sense if the boxes weren't snatched with them,"

"Good question," Nino agreed with her. "Why the boxes AND the miraculous?"

"Markov managed to track the magical essence of both miraculous," Max reported, showing them a tablet with the tracking. "but... I have never seen this part of the world before. It... It seems so unreal!"

"Let me take a look at it," Ezra offered, and the tablet was handed to him.

"Whoever had taken your miraculous, my Sakura, will surely face my blade!" Kagami snarled, pressing a kiss on Marinette's forehead.

"If this is a protective contest then I already lost," Luka sighed. "but if I find out whoever stole my Melody's miraculous then I won't hesitate to go all pirate on them,"

"My FORCE, you guys have strange pet names for one another," Ezra groaned, shaking his head before focusing on the screen.

He narrowed his eyes at the location and noticed that it was in some language that was neither English nor Parisian.

It was Filipino, written in Baybayin.

"Uh, Max, where did this scan come from?"

"Well," Max looked proud to explain, puffing his chest up in pride. "I had instructed Markov to thoroughly and carefully scan Marinette and Adrien's bedrooms for any leftover evidence of break-ins. There had been no conclusions, but he had managed to get a scan to where the miraculous boxes had disappeared off to. With that, he and I managed to get a better signal of where the miraculous boxes could be, and we ended up with that location. Unfortunately, the magical essence that came with the disappearances is inscribed in a language that Markov was not programmed with. I had yet to program him with more translators than European and American languages,"

"It's because it's not a language in Europe nor America," Ezra told him. "It's a language from Asia,"

"What country in Asia?" Kagami asked as they all gathered around the blunet. "Perhaps that is where the miraculous all disappeared off to,"

"No, the boxes are not in Asia," Ezra shook his head. "The language is. It's Filipino, from the country Philippines,"

"Mom's told me about Philippines," Marinette spoke up. "She said that China and Philippines aren't in good terms at the moment,"

"Not entirely, but that's an issue for another time," Ezra waved it off. "Anyway, the language is in Filipino but written in Baybayin, an old writing style of the Filipino,"

"So what's it saying?" Alya leaned forward. "And how can you understand that?"

"PADU forces us to study billions of languages to understand anyone and everyone in the world," Ezra shrugged. "Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and English were the required ones, though,"

"So... you're saying that...?"

"PADU is in charge of the disappearance of the miraculous boxes,"

"WHAT?!" the group burst into a roar, with dozens of demanding questions.

"Guys, calm," Ezra merely raised his hand at them. "No, I don't know which agent did this. Yes, it is possible for another agent to be sent here without other agents' knowledge. And no, I can't tell them to give Tikki, Plagg and the miraculous back,"

"What can we do then?" Nino questioned.

"I can follow the tracks and track them down," Ezra offered, switching the tablet off. "Max, may I?"

"Of course," Max nodded. "If it helps you retrieve the magical miraculous of the ladybug and of the black cat, you may keep it with you for as long as it is necessary. I only ask you to take good care of it,"

"Sounds simple enough," Ezra stuffed the tablet into his backpack then turned to find Zeb with the other teachers. "ZEBBY!"

The human-disguised Lasat heard his call and made his way to him. He pecked his cheek and pulled him close, noticing the concern expression on his face. It caused him to frown.

"What's wrong, blueberry?"

"PADU," Ezra groaned. "Commander Shitsu got someone to steal the Mari and Adrien's miraculous, and now, I need to track them down,"

"What about school?" Zeb asked. "And Hawkmoth?"

"Hawkmoth will come after the miraculous," Ezra answered. "And I can do online. Send me all that's needed, and I'll send you all my answers, so you can give it to Miss Bustier,"

"Alright, alright," Zeb sighed and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "Just be careful, alright, love?"

"Gotcha," Ezra nodded then he ran off, far from the school.

He made his way towards the Eiffel Tower and made his way to the top, using his Jedi skills and the skills he learned as a streetrat to jump up and make his way to the tippy top of the tower. As soon as he was at the top, he sat on the railing and secured his bag onto his waist while Longg made his way to his shoulder.

"Where to, your majesty?"

"A place that I had called my home," Ezra smiled. "Longg, BRING THE STORM!"

X

  
X

  
X

"Sir, the miraculous of the ladybug and the black cat have been tracked down here," Nathalie pressed a button on her tablet, and digital map appeared in front of the man's screen, pinpointing a certain location.

"Excellent," Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the map. "Hmm, quite... peculiar. It is in a location even I do not know of,"

"It... It's in some kind oh hidden world, yet NASA and it's astronauts, specifically Commander Megan, had been in contact with the world and it's inhabitants, so they are deemed friendly and non-lethal," Nathalie reported, staring at the broadcasted news on her tablet. "Commander Megan herself had reported that she had been saved by some of the inhabitants and had thanked them, yet she dropped no names,"

"Interesting..." Gabriel allowed a smirk to appear on his face as he stared down at the map. "Nathalie, tell Adrien that I will be... overseas for the moment. I want you to stay here and steer his attention away from his... missing miraculous. I do not want him to have suspicions, and if he connects the dots wisely, we will have a problem,"

"Yes, sir," Nathalie nodded and watched as the man took his leave.

Gabriel made his way down to his secret lair and entered the dark room. The window opened, letting light into the room as he came to a stop in front of it.

"Nooroo, DARK WINGS RISE!"

The transformation was swift, his staff appearing in his hands as his purple mask covered his face and identity. He raised his hand for a butterfly to come to him, clasping it with his spare hand to fill it with his power. He then opened his hand to release the akuma.

"This should keep Paris busy," he snickered. "A shame that Ladybug and Chat Noir will never be able to reverse it!"

The akuma was on it's way out of the window when it vanished into thin air. Hawkmoth was flabbergasted.

"WHAT?!" he slammed the bottom of his staff onto the floor, gritting his teeth in rage. "THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!"

He tried once more, over and over, yet it seemed to wither away or purify itself before it could leave the building. By the last failure, his nerve was struck again, and he threw his staff onto the ground.

"How DARE this happen to me?!" he bellowed out. "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"

Suddenly, a piece of paper fell from where his akuma had disappeared. He picked it up and opened it to read.

_'What is impossible is always possible.'_

"DAMMIT!" he ripped the paper in pieces before turning to leave. "Nooroo, DARK WINGS FALL!"

The transformation fell as quick as it appeared. The poor butterfly kwami was drained, yet he followed after his holder weakly as Gabriel entered the elevator to head back up to the mansion. Nathalie noticed his sour expression as she watched him make his way back to the screen.

"Sir?"

"It... seems that whatever magic caused the Adrien and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's miraculous to disappear and retransfer is interfering with my powers as well," Gabriel snarled. "I cannot cause an akuma that will leave Paris to it's doom while Ladybug and Chat Noir are out of commission,"

"How about Mayura?"

"No," Gabriel shook his head. "I believe that if my akumas won't work then the amoks will not work either," He turned back to the screen and hummed. "It seems that I must leave immediately, so Adrien does not become suspicious,"

"I'll arrange your private plane immediately, sir," Nathalie nodded in understanding, getting up to leave.

Gabriel merely gave a nod of approval, his eyes glued to the screen as a plan began to formulate in his head. He needed to get those miraculous before anyone else found out where they were...

X

X

  
X

"Aha!" Yojimbo hopped onto a familiar road, a smile on his face as he held the tablet in his hand. "Here I am! On my way to Axle City!"

He dashed forward, his eyes on the screen as the first signal blinked rapidly the closer he got to the box. He ran through the forest, jumping onto every tree to get a better view of the place. He narrowed his eyes, his eyes switching from his pad and the forest repeatedly and calling on the Force to help guide him through and past any danger that might come at him (ahem, ahem, Hawkmoth, ahem, ahem).

Just as he was nearing the clearing, there was a loud ring. He immediately lifted his watch and pressed on the gem, releasing a holographic image.

"Hey there, big bro,"

"Ezra!" the image of a dark blue monster truck beamed at the sight of him. "Our bond alerted that you were coming, but I didn't think you'd be here right away!"

'Only my brothers could recognize me through my suit.' Yojimbo chuckled. "Sorry for not telling you and Darry right away. I'm here on a mission, but I'll be visiting you both too. Don't worry, Crusher,"

"I'm your big brother. Why shouldn't I worry?" Crusher frowned. "What's with the superhero suit?"

"Long story, no time," Yojimbo shook his head. "Talk to you later. I'm being followed,"

He was. He knew he was. Not him specifically, but it was still following what he was tracking. The Force was screaming at him alarm, but he reacted calmly and let it slide, knowing that he should get the miraculous boxes before he gets captured or caught.

"WHAT?!" And as he predicted, his emotional, dramatic big brother went all out in worry.

"But I'll be fine," Yojimbo waved him off. "I'll call you again later. Tell Darington that I called and that I'm fine. See ya at the park,"

With that, he hung up on the call. He then ran. Ran towards another tree and grabbed whatever was hanging from the branches. He took it in his hands and jumped to the tree's leaves to hide.

As he did, a plane passed by the forest, with the sound of it's engine faded yet still loud enough for him to hear. He watched it fly through the leaves, scowling at the familiar initials painted at the side of the plane.

"Gabriel, I SWEAR TO ASHLA---!" Yojimbo hissed, glaring at the plane until it was out of sight.

If PADU wasn't going to give him gray hairs then he was pretty sure Hawkmoth was.

Finally, he let out a sigh and looked down at the box in his hands. It was a box, a maroon, hexagon-shaped box. It had the exact design as the larger miraculous box, so he knew he found the right box. He opened the box, allowing a bright little creature fly out of the box. When the glow faded, a color of red and black replaced it.

"Yojimbo!"

"Hey there, Tikki," Yojimbo patted the ladybug kwami with a smile. "Are you alright?"

"Better now," Tikki sighed. "Where's Marinette?"

"Back in Paris, but don't worry, I've got ya," Yojimbo assured her. "Where's Plagg?"

"I... I don't know," Tikki frowned. "I can't feel him,"

"Stupid PADU magic," Yojimbo groaned and grabbed the earrings, placing it in his ears. "Hawkmoth's here too. He's tracking the boxes, so as long as I get the earrings, he'll never get them,"

"Good thinking," Tikki's eyes lit up. "Where to next?"

"To find Plagg," Yojimbo took out his lightsaber-sword and flicked his wrist, allowing it to transform into a grappling hook as he swung away.

X

  
X

X

"HE'S BEING FOLLOWED?!" Darington sounded like he was ready to tear his cape and helmet off, gritting his teeth at the news.

"Yep," Crusher flinched at his younger adoptive brother's tone of voice through the phone. They may all be adopted, but the other sure sounded like their male mother when he's mad or pissed because of worry. "Who do you think it might be?"

"Whoever it is, THEY WILL NOT HURT OUR LITTLE BROTHER!" Darington snarled.

"Darington, we don't even know how close Ezra is!" Crusher argued. "We'll have to wait for another update before placing him in another protective circle,"

"If anything happens to him, I'M GONNA KILL SHITSU AND HAVE DAD SPAR HIM TO DEATH!"

"If Ezra gets hurt, my Smashing Robots are ready for command," Crusher grinned darkly. "Along with some... magic spells that I swore never to do,"

"TEACH ME!" Darington cried out.

"AFTER the other update," Crusher told him. "We need ONE more update then we decide what to do,"

The other end was quiet for a moment. Crusher waited, though. He haited waiting, but when it comes to his brothers, he had more patience than he had with anyone else in the world.

"...Fine," Darington grumbled. "BUT if he's hurt badly by whoever's following him, I'LL be the first to strangle whoever hurt him,"

"Deal," Crusher sighed in relief, but as he was about to hang up, the sound of a powerful, faded engine crossed his hearing, and he turned to the window to check what it was.

"Uh, Darry?"

"What is it?"

"Was anyone expecting company... from Paris?"

"No... why?"

"Look out the window," Crusher drove closer to his window. "because I'm seeing a plane from Paris heading down to the fields,"

"Really?" Darington would usually be excited to meet newcomers, expected or unexpected, but his voice sounded worried, if not concerned. "Huh. Weird. I'll call the others, so we could see who came. Call me if Ezra does, m'kay?"

"Got it," Crusher nodded and hung up before staring up to watch the plane slowly descend.

First Ezra coming in the dragon miraculous suit that he had messaged them about then a plane from Paris coming to Axle City? The day was getting stranger and stranger by the minute!

X

  
X

  
X

"Hmm..." Yojimbo glanced down at the screen and found what he was looking for. "Ah! There it is!"

He swung his way to a tree stump and found the miraculous box laying on the ground, just leaning against the stump. He took it in his hands then he dashed to the forest as quick as possible. He hid himself up in one of the trees again, allowing the leaves to give him camouflage to hide from any passing monster machine. As soon as he felt like he had privacy, he opened the box.

"Finally!" the glow of the kwami flew out, zipping around the boy's head and body happily. "I thought I'd never get out!"

"Nice to see you too, Plagg," Yojimbo chuckled, taking the ring to slip into his fingers.

"Yeah, yeah," Plagg flew to him, the glow ceasing to reveal the black mouse-cat kwami. "Where's Adrien? And Sugarcube?!"

"Right here, Plagg!" Tikki flew out from Yojimbo's shoulder and was immediately greeted with Plagg hugging her, purring happily.

"You two are adorable 'cause you're small," Yojimbo teased.

"Oh, shush," Plagg huffed, pulling away to face the dragon miraculous holder. "So, when are we getting back to Paris?"

"Not in a while, apparently," Yojimbo shook his head. "Hawkmoth's here, and if we leave, he'll put this place in danger before following us. I'm not risking my brothers THAT much. I'm sure that not even this city's so-called heroes can manage akumas as Ladybug and Chat Noir can,"

"So what do you have in mind?" Tikki asked.

"Just ONE idea," Yojimbo grinned. "I'm gonna have to name a new Ladybug and Chat Noir for Axle City,"

X

X

  
X

"Sir, the signal has been lost,"

"Curse it," Gabriel hissed as he glared at the screen, watching the tracks they've been following disappeare into thin air. "Nathalie, has Adrien returned from school?"

"He and Monsieur Couffaine came a few minutes ago, stating that they would do their assignments up in Adrien's room," Nathalie replied through a seperate screen. "Adrien still looked upset, and I saw no ring in any of his hands, so no, I don't think he has the black cat miraculous yet,"

"Transform into Mayura and make your way to the Dupain-Chengs," Gabiel commanded. "Check if Mlle. Dupain-Cheng has her miraculous... or any of the other miraculous, for that matter,"

"Yes, sir," Nathalie nodded and ended the call, the screen fading to black instantly.

Gabriel stared at the map in the main screen for a moment before turning it off. He let out a frustrated groan as he turned to walk back to one of the many seats in the plane. He sat down on the chair and sighed, a hand to his forehead as he closed his eyes.

Whatever magic was interfering with his akumas, and possibly Mayura's amoks, it was apperently preventing him from getting the ladybug and black cat miraculous as well. It was a sort of magic that he didn't like, yet it wasn't from any other miraculous. No, it felt... powerful, very powerful, and... superior compared to those of the miraculous. Even to the one of creation and destruction.

'Perhaps my akumas will work here better than in Paris.' he thought, trying to distract himself from the major loss of the trackings as he stood up once more.

He closed his eyes and felt the new city under his plane. He felt many emotions, too much happiness and peace for his liking. There was at least one or two beings with anger or fear, isolated from friends or alone brooding, but it wasn't strong enough. It was only light and temporary, being replaced with cheer and happiness in a matter of seconds.

'It seems chaos is something I must place in this city.' he snarled under his breath.

He opened his jacket and allowed Nooroo to come from hiding. He then made his way to the window, staring down at the buildings and fields to find a place to start the chaos. He spotted a barn nearby, where cows and pigs were happily playing with one another.

It wasn't that much, but it was a good start.

He pressed a button on the console in front of him. A line with a grabber at it's end came out from under the plane, which suddenly turned to make it's way towards the barn. The grabber was lowered, and it soon grabbed the nearest animal.

The sound of it's fearful squealing were music to his ears as the airplane made it's way in a different direction as fast as it could. The squealing never ended, and Gabriel felt the never-ending fear from the animal.

"Nooroo, it seems that we will have to create chaos for this place to bring out the miraculous," he smirked. "DARK WINGS RISE!"

The transformation came quickly, and when it ended, he wasted no time. He got the plane to land in a field hidden by the amount of trees surrounding the plain. It landed with a silent drag, releasing the line and grabber at a space near the landing area. Hawkmoth came out, a smirk on his lips as he walked over to the frightened pig, ignoring the fact that the creature had wheels instead of legs.

"Well, hello, little creature," he spoke in a tone that made the pig shiver more. "Don't worry, my new pet, I won't hurt you that much. Just... testing to see if my akumas will be powerful and effective here than it is where I came from,"

He opened the top of his staff, and a white butterfly flew out. He took it in his hands, magically corrupting it before releasing it towards the pig, who was more frightened than ever as it watched the akuma fly to it. The dark butterfly made it's way to the white cowboy hat of the pig, turning it dark as a glowing butterfly-shaped mask appeared in front of it's face. The moment it did, the fear in it's face vanished into a solemn expression.

"Hog-nado, I will give you the power to run around the city and cause as much mischief as you can," Hawkmoth commanded, delighted that his akuma FINALLY worked. "And in return, you will hand over the miraculous of the ladybug and of the black cat. Is that clear?"

The pig gave a nod before being consumed the dark corruption of the akuma. Hawkmoth let out an evil laugh as his akuma changed the creature into Hog-nado, it's whole body dark purple while it's hat was now a bright magenta.

"Go on, Hog-nado!" the butterfly miraculous holder told his new akuma. "Go, and hunt down the ladybug and black cat miraculous, spreading chaos along the way!"

Hog-nado let out a squeal-lik cry before dashing off at the speed of light, heading towards the city. Hawkmoth merely watched with amusement, his eyes gleaming with evil and hope.

He WAS going to find those miraculous. Even if it meant that he had to burn and destroy all of this city to find them.


	3. Azul Bug

Crusher drove back and forth in his apartment nervously. It had been a while since Ezra called. The plane earlier had disappeared from sight, and it showed no signs of taking over the skies again.

He knew that he shouldn't worry. Ezra could handle himself, and HE himself was fine, after all. Why should he worry?

But that was the problem. Having a family made him soft. Soft to the point that he watched over his younger brothers like a hawk.

Darington wasn't really someone he'd watch over much. His stunts were normal, no matter the extreme factor of it, and his adventures with Blaze, AJ and their friends were pretty much a normal basis now. Sure, Crusher MIGHT have overreacted when he couldn't contact the stunt truck for a few days at Darington's first few adventures with Blaze and AJ, but eh, big brother instincts.

That DIDN'T mean he trusted the red truck. He had enough of hearing him through Darington's chatter. It was no doubt a crush, but Crusher knew better than to intervene. He didn't have that much of a right.

As for their father, Crusher knew that he would LOVE to meet Blaze sooner or later (or if Darington planned to confess his little crush).

Ezra, on the other hand, was someone Crusher didn't want to watch over since he was more mature for his age, but the blunet could be reckless as Darington, and his missions, as a PADU Lieutenant and as a Rebel, were either risky or life-threatening. How his husband could sleep while the 18-year old went on to risk his life, Crusher had no idea. How they were able to make twins and a youngest child while busy on missions was also a pure mystery to him.

Thank the Ashla that they're parents were out and busy with the Empire and the Chiss Ascendancy, or they would have gotten their younger sons and lectured them to a life time, adoptive or not. Not that Crusher was going to be saved by his male mother's scolding for cheating and booting out Darington out of the Monster Dome that one time, but in his defense, he too had wanted to do the stunt, and it would've felt better if his younger brother had asked him to join him in the stunt, or at least considered showing him what he was planning.

"You know, thinking will burn your brain, right?"

Crusher yelped and jumped at the sudden voice in his apartment. He then turned to find his youngest adoptive brother at the window, still wearing his dragon miraculous disguise. The dark blue truck sighed.

"Ezra, thank goodness," he wiped the sweat off his hood. "Any more minutes of silence, and I would've activated my Smasher Robots AND would've taught Darington the dark spells that I've stumbled upon,"

"Sorry, I had things to do," the boy offered him a smile. "Longg, calm the storm,"

In an instant, the miraculous disguise gave away, and a little red dragon kwami flew off and rested on Ezra's shoulder. Longg looked exhausted, so the blunet flicked his hand, causing a bowl of cookies to appear in his hands.

"Here, Longg, you need to restore your strength," he told the kwami, setting the bowl on the table. "You too, Tikki,"

Longg nodded and went to eat. Tikki happily zipped from the boy's jacket and dashed over to the bowl to join the dragon kwami. Plagg came out after, grumpy, but before he could say anything, Ezra had made a bowl of Camembert appear, and the mouse-cat kwami was drowning in the cheese quicker than a snap.

Crusher watched with surprise. "So... are these the kwamis that you told me and Darry about?"

"Yep," Ezra nodded. "The ladybug is Tikki. The dragon is Longg while the mouse-cat is Plagg,"

"Okay..." Crusher turned to face his little brother. "So, please explain what's going on! Darington and I know that you, Gia, Aunt Bo, and Zeb are here on a PADU mission to help out Ladybug and Chat Noir while fighting Hawkmoth and Mayura. So why are their miraculous here and not with them?"

"Long-story short; PADU arranged for the miraculous to disappear from Paris and to reappear here in Axle City," Ezra began. "I'm here to help get the miraculous back, but since Hawkmoth is ALSO here, following the track that the miraculous boxes surprisingly have, I knew that leaving to return the miraculous would be both risky and a wrong move for any of us,"

"So... that plane...?"

"Yes, Hawkmoth's in that plane," Ezra gave a nod. "He doesn't know I'm here, though, that's a good thing,"

"How? And what plan do you have for Hawkmoth?!" Crusher looked distressed, a face that he had shown to no one but his family (even to Darington, who swore to never say a word about it).

"I need a new Ladybug and a new Chat Noir," Ezra claimed. "And I need one fast,"

Crusher slammed his mouth shut and began to think for a while. He placed a tire on the side of his face with a hum.

"Well, there IS this new monster truck that came here like two years ago..." he told him. "His name his Blaze, and he's got a driver called AJ. They've been Axle City's fastest racer and brave heroes for the past years,"

"Oh, yes, Blaze," Ezra's face went sour for a moment before smiling. "I've looked him up in the files. Mr Perfect, Athletic and Adventurous. Yeah, no, I don't want him to get the miraculous. Him getting it would be too obvious, and everyone would assume it's him, so Hawkmoth will target him immediately and take the ladybug miraculous. Besides, he'll be too busy with other rescues to have the miraculous as a responsibility,"

"Alright... then who?" Crusher was out of ideas instantly, causing the latter to groan.

"I thought we've been over your 'pulling self down in private' attitude..."

"What? What does that have to do with--- oh NO," Crusher's eyes widened in realization. "No! No, NO, NO! I can't be! Ezra, you know that I'm not a hero! I love superheroes, and I would LOVE to be one, but you know that I'm not up to it! I'M A CHEATER, NOT A HERO! THAT'S BLAZE'S JOB!"

"See? This is EXACTLY the problem Darry and I've discussed with you but never brought up with Mom and Dad because you didn't want us to," Ezra shook his head. "Mitcr'ush'ervanto, STOP downing yourself!"

Crusher grimaced at how his little brother practically screamed his full name in the darkest tone he had ever heard. Even the kwamis seemed to freeze mid-eating, eyes now wide as they stared at the brothers, with Plagg now intrigued with the argument while Tikki and Longg seemed more concerned about the issue and more worried about how things were going to turn out.

Ezra took the silence that followed after as an opportunity to calm down from his outburst. He took a deep breath, running a hand down his hair in exasperation while placing one at his face with a groan.

"Crush, look," he spoke up again but softer and calmer than earlier. "no one is born a hero. Blaze... he was raised with perfect parents. Us... you... we all have terrible pasts. I wasn't born a hero either, and you know that. I was a Loth-rat before I was taken in. I didn't know that I'd be a hero, a Jedi of Hope, a Commander in the Rebellion. I wasn't born that way, but I grew into the role, and I know... that you will too,"

He called for Tikki to come over. The said ladybug kwami nodded in understanding and flew over as Ezra took off the earrings and flicked his hands around, causing the earrings to slightly enlargen and alter into some kind of metallic pin. He held them out to his big brother with a sigh.

"Please, Crusher,"

His voice was in a whisper. It was not a demand, it was a plead.

Crusher read it too well. He stared down at his little brother, his eyes meeting the other's. He could see the beg, the exhaustion, the hope lit up in the blunet's sapphire blue eyes.

How long had it been since he had his rest?

"Ezra..." Crusher swallowed up the guilt, but as he was about to say anything else, screaming came from outside, catching their attention immediately.

They all dashed to the window and gasped at the chaos below. The buildings, the stores, the restaurants, everything in the city was all wrecked, along with the park and the playground. Many monster trucks were screaming for their lives as a huge tornado of purple and magenta came to them, zooming from here, there and everywhere, not stopping even when it hurt the trucks.

With them was Blaze and his friends, including Darington. They were trying to calm the other trucks, trying to get in control of the situation they were facing and trying to catch the threat. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain, and the threat sped away to cause more chaos before they could catch it while the trucks kept screaming and running away, some sobbing for their lives.

"It's an akuma!" Tikki exclaimed.

"Oh no," Ezra set down the now-magnetic earrings down on the couch. "Longg, were you able to restore your strength?"

"Yes, your majesty," Longg nodded with a bow. "Whenever you are ready,"

"Alright," Ezra smiled. "Longg, BRING THE STORM!"

Crusher watched in awe as his little brother transformed right in front of him, the dragon miraculous disguise retuning to the blunet, who raised his lightsaber-sword and jumped out of the window. The dark blue truck was amazed, perplexed and worried all at the same time, for himself, his brothers, the city... everything! The attack was so sudden, so shocking, so intense that he couldn't make out what to react!

"Crusher, your brother NEEDS help!" Tikki's voice snapped the other out of his thoughts. "An akuma can never be defeated without a Ladybug to stop it and purify it!"

"But... But you heard what I said, Tikki," Crusher let out a shaky sigh. "I might act proud out there, in front of everyone, in front of Blaze, AJ and Pickle, but... but deep inside, I know I can't do anything they can do,"

"Now is not the time for lack of pride!" Tikki insisted. "Ezra NEEDS you, Crusher! He chose YOU to be the next Ladybug! That means YOU are worthy of being the next ladybug, flaws and all! Every Ladybug can be selfish, can fail, can cheat, can do anything they want, so it's not important if you don't start out fine! Or if you were never born as a hero! What IS important is that you take the chance you get, and go out to help your brother defeat the akuma!"

Crusher took in everything the little kwami said. It was true. He, Ezra and Darington weren't born to be anything. Sure, he was born in a family of cheaters, but he managed to pull himself out of that atmosphere, yet he was influenced badly enough, and sure, Darington was honestly born as a stunt truck, with blood parents who died from their own stunt, but he was still trying.

Neither of them were born as anything, yet they made names for themselves. They strived hard and survived the hardest of times, adopted by those who could feel their pain and help them.

No one decided who they could be. No one could decide what their fates were. Only they themselves could.

But right now, it seems that he was deciding his brother's as much as his.

"You... You're right, Tikki," he finally replied with a defeated sigh. "I can't let my brother face this threat alone. Not this time," He turned around and grabbed the magnetic earrings, allowing them to attach to each of his exhaust pipe. "And this'll also give me an opportunity to one-up Blaze!"

"But you can't expose your secret identity, Crusher," Tikki warned him.

"Don't need to," Crusher grinned. "As long someone else is the Hero of Axle City, I'm sure that Blaze will be outshined in no time. Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

X

  
X

  
X

"ZIPPY!" Starla cried out at the top of her lungs, desparately trying to reach out to her favorite pet pig, who was spiraling out of control. "Zippy, it's me! Come back to me!"

Hog-nado didn't seem to hear her out and let out a squeal, mocking her before zooming off. Starla frowned, upset by the response as Watts came by to wrap a tire around the cowgirl.

"I don't think we can get to him that easily," she softly said. "We've all tried,"

"I... I know," Starla was about to sob, causing their other friends to surround her. "It's just that... I... I don't understand how this happened. Earlier, he... he disappeared. He was taken by someone, and now, he's destroying the city! I don't know what happened!"

"Don't worry, Starla," Blaze assured him. "We'll stop him and save Zippy,"

"Yeah!" AJ agreed. "We just need to figure out what happened to him and help him turn back to normal,"

"Not that simple, I'm afraid," A voice from above them spoke.

They all looked up, and their eyes widened to see Yojimbo drop down, landing in front of them with a thud. Darington recognized his little brother instantly, but since he had never once mentioned about his family (not that he wasn't proud. they just never asked), he kept his mouth shut and watched as the dragon miraculous holder came forward, eyes gold with his mask as he stared over at them.

"Who are you?" Stripes asked.

"I am Yojimbo, the holder of the Dragon Miraculous," Yojimbo gave a respective bow. "I had tracked down the akuma that had manipulated the little pig that had just zoomed by to destroy this part of the city, and I am here to take care of it,"

"Don't hurt Zippy!" Starla begged. "He... Somethin's wrong with him! He ain't a real threat!"

"I know, don't worry, Ma'm," Yojimbo smiled. "Your pig is corrupted, but I, as a miraculous holder, am the one powerful enough to put a stop to him and remove the akuma to stop him. Don't worry, though. He will be alright and will have no memory of the destruction he caused,"

"What's an akuma?" Gabby questioned. "And what does it have to do with what happened to Zippy?"

"An akuma is something powerful and corruptive placed into a pure, innocent butterfly that a villain called Hawkmoth makes to take advantage of the emotions of people," Yojimbo explained. "It is to possess an important object of a person who feels strong, negative emotions, forming a telepathic connection between the person and Hawkmoth," He took out the hilt of his lightsaber-sword and ignited it, allowing a burst of bright, blue light to appear. "Now, you say that Zippy was kidnapped before this happened?"

"Y-Yes," Starla managed to calm down and nod at the question.

"Then I will assume that Hawkmoth kidnapped him to sink in some massive fear into your pet, which is a powerful negative emotion, enabling him to release the akuma and corrupt him," Yojimbo hissed. "I will have to take care of that and destroy the akuma. It's usually dark and where his powers would be coming from. Have any of you noticed anything?"

"Well... he IS throwing tornado out of his hat to destroy one part of the city while zipping off to another," Blaze admitted, followed by everyone nodding in agreement. "We didn't know that it could be where the threat is, though,"

"Good enough. Thank you," Yojimbo nodded then he took out his grappling hook, using it to swing off after Hog-nado.

As soon as he was gone, the group were crying out in awe and amazement.

"That was a real superhero!"

"I know, right?!"

"I can't believe that a real superhero came to Axle City to help us!"

"Zeg excited to see superhero in action!"

"I sure hope he helps Zippy get back to normal..."

"I hope he manages to help fix everything else too..."

Darington was the only one NOT speaking. He was too succumbed with worry to speak.

Ezra... little brother... was out in his miraculous suit and out fighting some POWERFUL AKUMA BEINGS?! Darington KNEW that Ezra was out on a mission, to be Yojimbo and help Ladybug and Chat Noir with their problems with Hawkmoth and Mayura. What he didn't know, and obviously wasn't prepared for, was the fact that the villainous Hawkmoth would find his way to Axle City, endangering him and Crusher if the villain knew of Ezra's identity and family.

No wonder Ezra had to come undercover and without telling them. It didn't excuse the fact that the blunet boy was in danger himself.

"You okay, Darington?"

The stunt truck jumped at the voice and turned to find Blaze staring at him with worry. He felt the red truck's sky blue eyes staring, causing him to stutter and suddenly blush deeply in embarrassment.

"O-Oh! Y-Yes!" he gave off a grin, hoping the other, who he might or might not have a crush on, would fall for the facade. "I was just, uh, surprised! I mean, I've been around the city for years, and I've never faced anything as... dangerous as this,"

"Yeah, I'm with Darington on this," Stripes agreed with a nod. "I'm glad we've got a superhero to help us out, but something this serious could go on longer than just a day or two,"

"Who knows how long this villain's gonna stay," Gabby grimaced.

Darington released a sigh of relief as the attention diverted from him and back to the problem at hand. He turned to stare over to the direction his little brother had swung off to, and his worry grew.

He was DEFINITELY going to have a talk with Crusher and Ezra about this.

X

  
X

X

"Akuma, stop right there!"

Hog-nado turned to find Yojimbo jumping in front of him, his lightsaber-sword out and ready to attack. The butterfly-shaped glowing mask appeared in front of him.

["Don't let him get in your way!"] Hawkmoth roared out through their connection. ["Take his miraculous and find the ladybug and cat miraculous! Now!"]

Hog-nado nodded and let out a loud squeal of anger as the mask disappeared. He took off his hat and released a tornado from within, aiming it at the dragon miraculous holder. Yojimbo wasn't fazed and stepped forward, aiming to cut the magical tornado in half with his own magic, but the force of the akuma was too strong, and it threw him into the sky.

"Yojimbo!"

Said holder let out a gasp as a yoyo was wrapped around his waist. He let out a yelp in surprise as he was suddenly pulled onto a building and landed in a pair of arms. His eyes met his savior's, hidden beneath a mask of red with black spots.

Ladybug spots?

"You okay, little brother?"

"Crush?" Yojimbo's eyes widened as he stared at the other, who was apparently his eldest adoptive brother in human form.

The other male was fair, had blue hair of two shades with bangs that covered one of his eyes, which were coal black yet glistening with an electric blue glow, similar to when he used his inventing pouch. His suit was sky blue and red, each with black spots. Two lavender belts were around his waist, along with some lavender separation between his blue armelts and his red, fingerless gloves and between his suit and his red boots while he held his black-spotted, sky blue yoyo in one of his hands.

"One and only, little blue," the new ladybug miraculous holder chuckled, setting the other down gently. "Couldn't let you fight by yourself. Plus, this is the ONLY opportunity I have to outshine Blaze when it comes to being a hero,"

Yojimbo rolled his eyes. "Yep, it's definitely you, big bro. Or should I say 'Ladybug'?"

"Azul Bug," the other corrected with a smile. "I'm may be all red and black, but blue is my main color here,"

"Azul Bug, indeed," Yojimbo giggled, gazing at his big brother from head to toe. "So, since you're the 'ladybug' now, this akuma's your call,"

"I knew that there was a catch to this," Azul Bug groaned. "Just... Can you tell me where the akuma is? You already told me that Ladybug just needed to purify the akuma to stop it,"

"In Zippy's hat," Yojimbo pointed down at the dark hat on the akuma pig's head.

"THAT is Zippy?" Azul looked surprised. "Wow, Starla must be upset then,"

"If you knew about that then why'd you sent him away during the race?" Yojimbo raised an eyebrow.

"That wasn't on me. That was on Slop," Azul shrugged. "I taught him how to cheat, not what cheat to use on Zippy,"

"Fair," Yojimbo sighed and turned away. "At least you agreed to give Slop up after,"

"Eh, I only bought him for the race, and you know that," Azul shrugged and twirled his yoyo. "Oh, boy, I sure wish I would've gotten some lasso practice from Mom,"

"You'll learn as you go, don't worry about it," Yojimbo snickered and took out his grappling hook. "Come on, Zippy went that way!"

X

  
X

X

"Drat that dragon!" Hawkmoth snarled, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist as he recognized the yoyo, despite it's different color. "Yojimbo might've gotten the ladybug miraculous and had found a new holder, but my akuma WILL get succeed! No matter what!"

The glow of the mask returned to his face with a growl as he got in contact with Hog-nado once more. "Hog-nado, take down the new heroes and bring me their miraculous!"

X

  
X

  
X

"GAH!" Azul screamed as he almost lost his grip on his yoyo.

"I got ya," Yojimbo used the Force to throw his brother to the string and sighed. "Okay, we REALLY need to talk to Dad about your lack of athletic skills. You clearly need it, in racing, in akumas, and if Dad actually decides to let us lead the armies of Csilla,"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Azul stared at his brother in horror as they both landed up a building roof. "I thought the Council of the Chiss Ascendancy refused!"

"They refused until they saw us in person, and until Dad and Uncle Thrass retires," Yojimbo chuckled. "You didn't think that Dad would let his 'precious blueberry gems' grow up without experiencing what a real war looked like, did you?" 

"Force Dammit, really?!" Azul released a groan. "You know, the training for my athletic skills is something I wouldn't mind. The training in the army part is the one that bothers me,"

"Eh," Yojimbo shrugged and headed down. "Fight now, talk later. Let's go!"

With that, he used his grappling hook to jump down to the chaos. Azul sighed and looked down at the yoyo in his hand.

If he was gonna be the new Ladybug, which was mostly likely gonna happen, he not only had to learn athletic skills from his father and little brother, but he also had to learn how to use his new powers quickly.

"Oh boy, what had I gotten myself into...?" he took a deep breath, shutting his eyes tightly before lifting the twirling yoyo into the air. "Lucky Charm!"

His Lucky Charm was quite different, though. Instead of magical red ladybugs floating into the air, they were bright blue and electric, glowing like every time he used his invention pouch. It was then he realized that his pouch and the magic he possessed was nearly identical.

They were both about Creation, even if their purposes and uses were different.

The magic soon disappeared and down fell a red, black-spotted apple. Azul stared at it in shock and irritation.

'Tikki, you and I are having words!'

"AHH!" Azul turned, and his eyes widened in horror to see his brother tossed towards the fountain by one of Hog-nado's tornados.

"OTOUTO!" he clenched the apple tightly before using his yoyo to swing down.

He landed in front of Yojimbo and helped him up with his free hand. He let him lean onto him, wrapping an arm around his waist while allowing the other to wrap an arm around his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yojimbo hissed, causing the older one to roll his eyes.

His youngest brother was bruised all over, most likely bleeding in his suit with broken and/or sprained injuries too, but Azul knew all too well that the younger blunet would be too stubborn to admit such a thing. It didn't mean he liked how his little brother was treating himself, though.

Hog-nado snorted mockingly, taking his hat off and prepared to release another tornado. Azul wasn't going to let him get the chance and managed to swing his yoyo to get him and Yojimbo out of the mess whilst still carrying the apple.

They managed to get to another rooftop and set his brother on the ground. Yojimbo wanted to get up and fight again, but he blocked his path and shook his head.

"NO! Not again!" he scolded. "Let me handle this. I may not have experience, and I may not be athletic, but I can be smart, and I'll be able to handle things while you rest,"

"But you'll need a partner when you fight akumas!" Yojimbo argued. "I haven't chosen a Chat Noir for you yet!"

"Then rest and find one, if you don't want ME hurt either," Azul scowled before sighing. "Look, little bro, I love you, and you know that I would never want for you to get hurt, so please, PLEASE, just go and rest. Find the new Chat Noir, if you have to, but STOP FIGHTING ANY FURTHER! Please!"

Yojimbo wanted to keep fighting, to argue about it further, but one look from the tearful, PLEADING eyes of his human-turned eldest adoptive brother made him pause in his words and clamp his mouth shut. He knew Crusher well enough to know that breaking down in public was something he would never do and would usually walk things off until he get home to actually break down.

So seeing his brother about to burst in favor of his safety made him realize his mistake. With a heavy sigh, he nodded and carefully picked himself up from sitting position.

"Okay, Azul, I'll stop," he spoke, head low in shame. "I'll head back and get Plagg,"

"Thank you," Azul sighed in relief before turning. "As soon as you get the new Chat Noir, REST, okay?"

Yojimbo nodded reluctantly and watched as the other swung off. He soon turned to take his own leave, pressing the gem on his watch to create a portal to Crusher's apartment. As soon as he swung in, he covered the window then he slumped down on the couch.

"Longg, calm the storm,"

His suit disappeared, revealing his bruises and bleeding gashes. Longg appeared by his shoulder and gasped at his appearance.

"Your majesty---"

"Don't, please," Ezra shook his head and waved him to the bowl of cookies. "Regenarate your strength,"

Longg frowned but obliged to his holder's command. He wanted to help his dragon queen but couldn't do so if he didn't want the help.

Just as the dragon kwami dove into the bowl cookies, Plagg emerged from his cheese bowl. He swallowed the cheese he was munching on and flew over to the blunet.

"You okay, kid?"

"No..." Ezra sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm tired,"

"Well, that's not obvious," Plagg rolled his eyes.

"But Crusher needs help,"

"Get me a holder then," Plagg pointed out.

"I know I should," Ezra opened his eyes and faced the kwami. "I just hope he forgives me for the one I'm choosing,"

"Who ARE you choosing?"

Ezra chuckled, grinning darkly. "His best friend,"


	4. Chat Berde

Pickle had seen many things in his life, but this was something he never expected to see.

Sure, he had driven around to the top of the world with Crusher during the Race To The Top of the World, and sure, he had driven around the world and even flew in space with Crusher during the Race Around the World and during the Great Space Race, but this... was something shocking and so uncommon, even for Axle City. Even for him, who had raced to many places and was left unscathed and amazed.

The city was being destroyed by a rampaging pig with freaking powers. Pickle recognized Zippy in an instant, the cowboy hat and star on his head obvious enough to spot Starla's corrupted pig. He had no idea what had happened to the poor pig, but one thing's for sure;

Zippy wasn't the one causing the destruction.

Pickle didn't know the pig better than Starla, but he did know enough to understand that Zippy wasn't in control of himself. The little pig was a racer, but a nice racer, like his owner. He would never stoop down so low to lash out and destroy the city over anything. Not even if he lost a race (which was very unlikely because he was the fastest pig around) or something bad had happened to Starla or to her girlfriend Watts or to any of their friends.

So the question was; what had happened?

His attention was soon diverted from the destruction to the group below him. Blaze, AJ and their friends were helping the other monster trucks escape the city to make sure they were safe.

To be expected, of course. Even heroes can do so much.

"Man, I wish I can be like them..." he sighed. "I can try, but... I'm not sure I can..."

"Talking to yourself, are we?"

Pickle jumped and turned to see the dragon miraculous holder at his open window. He blinked at him for a moment and immediately recognized the boy behind the mask.

"Ezra?"

"Wow, you recognize me too?" the blunet groaned and stepped into the apartment. "First Crusher then Darington, and now you. Honestly, I expected my brothers, but you, Pickle? Not so much,"

"What are you doing here?" Pickle asked, tilting his head.

"The akuma," Yojimbo hissed, glancing at Hog-nado briefly. "I tracked it down, but I'm in no condition to help Azul Bug in the battlefield,"

"Azul Bug?"

Yojimbo sighed. Force, he knew that Pickle had no clue about anything that he had been telling Darington and Crusher. Yes, Pickle knew about him and their family from way before. He was one of Crusher's oldest friend and the most loyal best friend his big brother have, but he still didn't get the same news as the one Darington and Crusher get everyday. It was a brothers-thing, so Pickle was never updated.

"Azul Bug is the predecessor of Ladybug, a superheroine of the ladybug, the Miraculous of Creation," Yojimbo motioned to his human-diguised big brother, who was trying to stop Hog-nado from doing further damage to the city. "He is a miraculous holder, like me, but I wield the dragon, the Miraculous of Perfection. Only HE can stop the akuma and free Zippy from Hawkmoth's curse,"

"Woah... that's a big responsibility," Pickle pointed out with a wince. Whoever was using the miraculous must be really brave and willing to save their city.

"Yes, it is," Yojimbo nodded. "That's why he can't do it alone. He can't face and deal with akumas alone. When there is Creation, there is always Destruction. As in, the black cat, the Miraculous of Destruction," He took off the ring from his finger and showed the black miraculous jewel to the green truck, who gaped in awe. "He needs a partner, a predecessor of Chat Noir, who had been the superhero partner of Ladybug, to balance his powers. He needs help,"

"So... who's gonna help him?" Pickle was still confused, not understanding why his best friend's little brother was telling him this.

He had theory, but... it couldn't be. He knew it couldn't be.

"Well," Yojimbo grinned and used magic to change the ring, shaping it into a tire-ring. "I was hoping that... you would, Pickle,"

Pickle's eyes widened in shock.

No, he couldn't be a hero! He just couldn't! He wasn't like Blaze or AJ. He wasn't that brave. There were times that he was a coward, and he'd hide from danger, not wanting to take part in any rescue. If it was Crusher or any of his family members, sure, he'd help, but that was about the limitation he had when it comes to heroism.

When the presents were whisked away by Crusher by accident, he stayed with the elves instead of helping to keep his best friend on track to help Blaze, AJ and Santa get the presents back. When the toys from the toy store grew large and started to rampage around the city, he and Crusher turned tail and left as fast as they could, too afraid to face the consequences of their (mainly Crusher's) actions. And when Crusher cheated and almost hurt the other racers (mostly Blaze and AJ), all he could do was try to delay Crusher, so he doesn't win.

He didn't do anything to stop him. When he did, it didn't work, and others get hurt.

He wasn't some superhero. He was just... Pickle.

"I... I can't,"

Yojimbo had expected this. Honestly, it was hard NOT to. He knew that he was enlisting the help of two trucks that weren't as heroic as Blaze, AJ, Darington, and their friends are.

Crusher pulling himself down was one thing. It was more difficult to sense and realize his problems because he prided himself so much whenever he was out racing or just in public or with company that was not family. He downed others to hide his jealousy and self-doubt then downed himself in private and in front of family, mostly his brothers. He kept this routine up for many years, even before his blood family disowned him because they hated him.

Pickle pulled himself down from Crusher's defensive actions. And when it wasn't him, it was the other trucks who considered him too small for something or too naive for anything. Pickle had Blaze, AJ and their friends to pull himself up, to assure that he IS enough for whatever job he does and that he was a great friend, but it wasn't enough for the green truck, and he continued to pull himself down.

At least Yojimbo knows that these two will be a great team. They've always been a great team, no matter how messed up their plans could be.

But those plans were plans to cheat. These upcoming ones will be for the better.

"You can," Yojimbo smiled. "Azul Bug would believe so too,"

"What do you mean?! Look at him!" Pickle pointed to Azul, who was now spin-dashing Hog-nado with his yoyo (where he learned that, Yojimbo will never know, or he's possibly too surprised to know). "He's so athletic! So heroic! So amazing! And so..." Pickle sighed, a daze smile on his face as he stared up at the ladybug miraculous holder dreamily. "He's so perfect! He doesn't need my help... or whatever help I can give,"

Yojimbo had seen those eyes before, and he held himself back from groaning. Of COURSE, Pickle had to gain a crush on the alter-ego of his best friend instead of Crusher himself. Why was he even surprised?

'Typical Love Square.' he hissed at himself in his head. 'What have I done to deserve this?'

"Pickle, he DOES need help," he gently rolled the tire-ring towards the other. "No one is perfect on their own. That's just not possible. Blaze still needs help from AJ and their friends, right?"

"I... I guess..." Pickle stared down at the tire-ring, hesitant to take it. "but... what if I mess up?"

"This Azul Bug's first day too, just so you know," Yojimbo offered. "He's just as nervous to mess up as you are. Even more so for him because he's the one who's gotta purify the akuma and reverse all the damage the akuma has done,"

"Wow, I had no idea," Pickle blinked and took the tire-ring into his tire.

He stared down at it again before clipping it to his tire. At once, the tire-ring turned lime green, and the small black mouse-cat kwami came out of the ring with a small swish. The sight of him made Pickle jump and scream.

"Calm down there, kitten," Plagg rolled his eyes at the green truck's reaction. "My name is Plagg, and I'm your kwami,"

"My... what now?" Pickle blinked at the small God then to Yojimbo, confused.

"Plagg is the Kwami of Destruction, powering the Miraculous of Deestruction," Yojimbo explained. "He's the one that gives your miraculous magical abilities, and he's gonna help you help Azul Bug defeat the akuma,"

"Oh!" Pickle smiled and turned to the kwami. "Hi! My name is Pickle!"

"NIce to meet ya," Plagg returned the smile. "Now, let me fill you in on everything you need to,"

Yojimbo sighed in relief as he let the kwami do the rest of the work. He knew that Plagg would never naturally do this to his new holder, but seeing that the dragon miraculous holder was hurt badly too much to take charge made him agree to take charge instead.

Yes, the deal consisted of a dozen of Camembert, but it was nothing Yojimbo couldn't handle. He knew a way to magically make the cheese that the black mouse-cat kwami wanted/needed anyway.

As soon as Pickle was distracted, he took the advantage to turn and leave through the open window. He jumped out and hopped across the rooftops until he made it back to Crusher's apartment. He dove in through his big brother's open window and shut it as quickly as he could then he turned and fell onto the couch with a sigh.

"Longg, calm the storm,"

With a zip and flash, Ezra felt himself out of his superhero self and back to his normal self. Longg flew out from the flash with a zoom, but he didn't leave his holder to eat to regenerate his strength. Instead, he flew to his holder's shoulder and patted it gently.

"Longg, you should---"

"No," Longg shook his head. "I should rest, as should you, your majesty,"

Ezra turned to him in surprise but was met with the kwami resting himself on his shoulder. The blunet couldn't bring himself to argue. He smiled and leaned gently against the small God, eyes closing.

"Yes, Longg, you're right. It's time to rest,"

X

X

X

Azul Bug let out a breath as he was flown towards another building. The grip on the apple he had as a lucky charm tightened at the impact, which made him realize how powerful it was since it was never squished nor did it break whenever he was hit.

'Damn it!' he cursed internally, stuffing the lucky charm in his belt before prying himself off the building's concrete.

It had been the... fifth time? Tenth time? Twelfth time hitting the concrete? He was starting to get hurt and tired. He knew he could reverse the damage easily with the Miraculous Cure that Ezra had told him and Darington, but he wasn't sure if he could heal himself and his little brother from all the injuries of the akuma.

And he wasn't sure how long he was gonna survive without some help.

Not that he regretted sending Yojimbo home. His little brother was bruised and bleeding under the suit. He was also tired and was lacking sleep, obvious by the bags under his eyes. Ezra had to be sent home before he fainted out of exhaustion and/or bloodloss.

But now, it seemed that Azul himself would be fainting from either bloodloss or loss of life.

"AZUL BUG!"

Said superhero was taken back by the cry. He only managed to turn his head around to search when he was snatched into arms and was carried off onto a building rooftop. He gasped and looked up, his eyes meeting green eyes.

Green cat eyes.

"You're... the new Chat Noir, I presume?"

"Call me Chat Berde, Az," the new superhero gave him a wink, setting him down gently. "You okay?"

"Fine now," Azul nodded, staring at the other from head to toe.

Now that he wasn't trapped in the cement, he got a glance of his black cat partner. The boy had greenish-blonde hair and emerald green cat eyes behind a black mask. Two black cat ears stuck out from his hair while his suit was black, grey and green. A silver, metal baton was on his hand, which showed the black miraculous ring's green glow. Behind him, a black cat tail swung, attaching to his belt but swinging like the real thing.

Chat Berde gave him a familiar smirk, one that Azul had easily recognized from the flirters Darington and Ezra both had. He didn't and never liked the expression one bit, but at least it looked more playful and innocent and less malicious than the ones he had seen.

'At least I have some help.'

Suddenly, there was a roaring squeal, and they both turned to see Hog-nado looking at them angrily and viciously, the butterfly-shaped glowing mask in front of his face. Both heroes knew that Hawkmoth was roaring and yelling at the poor akumatized pig, pressuring him to do more damage and get their miraculous for his own bidding.

And hell NO will they allow such a thing.

"Got any plan, Azul?" Berde questioned, twirling his baton.

Azul hummed in reply. He took out the apple from his belt and narrowed his eyes, trying to think of a way to use it. His vision suddenly went grey before he spotted two things for his plan; the apple and Berde's claws. He shifted his eyes and found Starla with the others. She glowed in blue ladybug colors in his eyes before his vision returned to normal.

And an idea formed in his head.

"Yes," he nodded and took out his yoyo, swinging it to another building. "Follow me, Berde, and try to keep up,"

X

X

X

Berde couldn't believe his luck when he first got to his superhero partner. From the window, Azul Bug looked amazing, fighting off the villain bravely and heroically. The way he stuck out his yoyo and struck Hog-nado... the way he swung from building to building to get away and strike again... it was all so amazing and... undescribably heroic.

But in person?

He was better. Much, MUCH better. Like, WOW! He never expected the ladybug hero to be more amazing and heroic-looking in person.

While Azul took the lead, Berde stared at him from the side. He blinked at the other, his eyes daze and never leaving his new partner's slick, gorgeous blue hair swaying in the wind. Azul's eyes were similar to his when he lacked mask. His, however, were sharp and focused on the mission ahead, yet he could see the softness that he had for the citizens of Axle City as they jumped through the rooftops to catch up with Hog-nado.

Whoever was behind the mask was someone he was DYING to know.

"Stop!"

Berde managed to snap out of his thoughts and come to a stop beside his partner.

"What's up, Bugaboo?"

"Well--- wait, 'Bugaboo'?" Azul raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?"

"Heh-heh," Berde grinned nervously as he realized that he had accidentally nicknamed the other when they've only just met. "Um... I just love to give people... nicknames...?"

"Uh-huh..." Azul shrugged it off and turned away. "Anyway, I've got a plan, but we're gonna need help,"

"Cool!" Berde beamed. "What do I do?!"

"I need you to distract the akuma," Azul said. "Don't attempt to directly hit him, though. He'll shoot you back with a tornado if you do. Just taunt him and get him to chase you," He then took out the black-spotted, blue apple from his belt. "When I give you the signal, get ready your cataclysm and aim for his hat. That's where the akuma is. Got it?"

"Loud and clear!" Berde gave a salute then he jumped forward to face the akuma.

He pounced onto the ground to find Hog-nado ready to release another tornado at Clive's Bakery. The poor baker truck was inside, frightened and practically begging the akuma to not release his tornado.

Berde shook his head and twirled his baton as he took a step forward towards the squealing pig.

"Hey, akuma! OVER HERE!"

Hog-nado turned and snarled at the sight of him. He took off his hat and prepared the tornado before blasting. Berde was quicker and managed to jump, dodging the tornado swiftly as he landed on his two feet with grace. He smirked.

"You missed!" he mocked. "You gotta do better than that to catch me, Chat Berde!"

Hog-nado let out an annoyed squeal. He charged at the cat miraculous holder, yet Berde was able to dodge and flip out of the way. He landed with a skid, in front of some surprised monster trucks with his baton out for defense. He turned to them and gave a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, folks!" he assured them. "Azul Bug and I got things handled! Go get yourselves to safety!"

The trucks looks doubtful, but when they glanced at Hog-nado, who was getting angrier by the minute, they dashed off. Even Clive took the chance to exit the fighting scene, zooming out of his bakery and following the other monster trucks. Berde waited for them to leave before turning to face the enraged akuma, eyes corrupted as the butterfly-shaped glowing mask returned to his face.

'Hawkmoth.'

Berde took a deep breath and let his eyes roam to find an exit to lead the akuma off.

He knew that Hawkmoth would be after his miraculous, so he knew it wouldn't be hard to bait and trap his akuma.

X

X

X

"Blast that dragon!" Hawkmoth was practically spitting fire as he saw the new miraculous holder. "First the ladybug miraculous, and now the black cat miraculous?! How DARE he steal what I planned to take?!"

He threw his cane in his plane, roaring out in rage at the akuma he was connected to. "Hog-nado, DON'T LET CHAT BERDE ESCAPE! SWIPE HIS MIRACULOUS, AND TAKE AZUL BUG'S MIRACULOUS AS WELL!"

X

X

X

"This way, everyone!"

Azul watched in awe and surprise as Blaze, AJ and his friends managed to point the panicking trucks to a safe path away from the fight.

Powers or no powers, they were STILL the heroes to keep everyone safe. Azul didn't know whether to feel impressed that they managed to still help even if they couldn't fight Hog-nado or jealous because they'll always be heroes no matter what.

'And I can only be a hero BECAUSE of the ladybug miraculous.'

The thought was sad, but the unfortunate truth of life. Azul didn't want to believe it, but honestly, they were the heroes of Axle City, and they would always be the heroes for Axle City. Everyone's gonna always ask them for help.

And at the moment, even HE needed help from one of them.

So, with a heavy heart and a lowered pride, he jumped down from the roof to confront them. He landed behind them with a thud, which caught their attention as they turned around. Their eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Woah!"

"Who're you?!"

"Another superhero?!"

"That's amazing!"

"Incredible!"

Azul wasn't surprised by the reactions. Heroes or not, it's always surprising and relieving to see an actual superhero with powers arrive at the city when things look like they're going down rock-bottom.

What DID surprise him was Darington. His usually out-going, friendly brother was staring at him inquisitively. Azul didn't need his adoptive father's intelligent mind to know that the stunt truck was trying to figure out who he was. He had possibly seen Ezra in his miraculous disguise and had most likely realized that their little brother was Yojimbo.

And he possibly wanted to make sure that the 'new superhero' wasn't another suffering teen from PADU.

"Hi there," Blaze drove forward with AJ in his driver's seat, snapping the ladybug miraculous holder out of his trance. "I'm Blaze, and this is my best friend AJ, and these are our best friends,"

"Um, greetings," Azul wanted to slap himself for the TERRIBLE introduction but smiled to hide his self-irritation. "I am Azul Bug, the holder of the ladybug miraculous and the new hero of Axle City,"

"So... you're here to stop and save Zippy too?" Stripes questioned.

"Please don't hurt him!" Starla begged. "Something's wrong with him and---"

"Yes, I know, Miss, I heard everything from Yojimbo," Azul nodded, holding a hand up to interrupt her. "I am here to stop him, and don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt him. I just... need your assistance,"

"My... assistance?" Starla blinked at him in surprise. "But what can I do?"

"Can you tell me what kind of food does your pet pig eats?"

"Oh!" Starla gave it a thought. "Hmm, he likes to eat a lot of things, but apples are his favorite at the most part,"

"That's what I thought," Azul smiled and raised the apple with his other hand. "Miss, I would need your help to bait your pet to halt him from his destructions,"

"How that work if Zippy crazy akuma now?" Zeg asked.

"Even akumas have weaknesses," Azul grinned. "Zippy might be an akuma now and is under some magic, corruptive mind control from a madman, but he's still a pig who likes apples," He then turned to Starla, holding the apple out. "Can I count on you to help me with that, Miss?"

"Anything to help Zippy," Starla nodded and took the apple into her tire. "You can count on me, Azul Bug!"

"Thank you," Azul gave a smile then he swung his yoyo off. "Stay here with your friends to back you up, in case the situation gets intense. My partner Chat Berde and I'll lead Zippy to you. Just be ready,"

"You can count on us, Azul Bug!" Blaze cried out.

"We'll be there to help!" Watts agreed, a tire reaching for her girlfriend.

"I know," Azul turned away then he swung off, avoiding the fact that his younger brother's eyes never left him.

Darington wasn't a fool. He was smarter than he looked and acted, thanks to their father's... VERY ADVANCED teachings. He knew his tricks from a mile away and knew exactly how to get past it, but he didn't give it away. He acted dumb and fell for his big brother's tricks, though he wasn't hurt that badly because he had airbags and cushions for his falls. He didn't want too much attention, and he certainly didn't want to spread his tactics like some superstar to be in the spotlight.

He liked being the star, but only at his stunts. During races, the stars were either Crusher or Blaze. It had been mostly Blaze and AJ since they came to Axle City, but Crusher had his moments when Blaze wasn't racing.

But Azul knew that his new look as a human and as a superhero was impossible to penetrate through unless he gave himself away...

"OVER HERE, HOG!"

The shout of his partner cut him from his thoughts. He stopped swinging and landed on a building to watch Berde jump from street to street and building to building, throwing taunts and mockery at the akuma. Hog-nado was looking pissed off, and by the sight of the glowing mask on his face, it was obvious that Hawkmoth was growing tired and angry of Berde's tactics too.

Azul sighed and slapped a hand on his face, releasing a groan. He knew that he told his partner to distract the akuma, but if he kept this up, he WILL get caught in one of Hog-nado's tornados sooner or later.

As if on cue, a tornado that Hog-nado had frustratingly thrown had caught onto Berde's tail, and the black cat miraculous holder was thrown to a building wall with a cry and a painful yelp. Azul sighed and swung over to save his companion before he could get hurt any further, taking the hero into his arm then he swung back to safety, hiding them behind an air vent to not be spotted by the akuma.

"Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm..." Berde was still daze as he got out of his dizzy state, shaking his head to face the other. "Bugaboo! You came to my rescue!"

"I don't know if it's natural for you to be this way or not, so I'll just hope that you didn't get whacked too hard," Azul let out a sigh and a hiss.

"Oh, don't worry, this is normal," Berde smirked. "What about you? Is it natural for you to save strangers, or is it just me?~"

'Oh NO, a flirty superhero.' Azul REALLY had to stop himself from groaning. 'That's just great.'

"No, it's not natural, but after this, it will be,"

"Aw, so no special treatment for your kitty?~"

'If this isn't just Plagg messing with this guy's head with flirts then I'm ready to slap.' Azul rolled his eyes. "NO! No special treatment for anyone, even for you, Yojimbo or myself,"

"D'aww," Berde sounded disappointed, but the look in his face showed that he was only joking. "Oh well. I can always hope, right?"

Azul wanted to throw himself to a building, but he had to restrain himself. Instead, he decided to focus on the situation and turn away to face Hog-nado, who was furiously searching for them with Hawkmoth pressuring him through their connection.

Poor pig was had to be freed before he was left traumatized with Hawkmoth's voice in his head for a long time.

"We need to guide Zippy to Starla,"

"Isn't it risky?" Berde spoke, standing up shakily. His injuries hadn't completely healed, but they were healed enough.

"Starla has the lucky charm, plus she has her friends with her. I'm sure she'll be fine," Azul gave him a wink. "Now come on, kitty, let's go free Hog-nado from Hawkmoth,"

X

X

X

Berde was internally squealing as he followed Azul across the rooftops to confront Hog-nado together.

Azul had called him kitty. AZUL BUG had called him KITTY! AND WINKED AT HIM! He didn't know whether to squeal in happiness for being recognized by his superhero partner or faint because of it.

But he knew that he couldn't do either. He couldn't squeal because he had to act professional. As a superhero, he knew that he was to not act out of too much emotion, or things would become too personal. He couldn't faint either because there was an akuma terrorizing their city, and they couldn't let Hawkmoth succeed in taking their miraculous or destroying their city.

So, with a happy heart, he chirped up and trailed after the ladybug miraculous holder. They soon confronted the akuma, yoyo and baton out and twirling, ready to fight and defend. Hog-nado attacked them, zooming towards them at lightning speed. Berde was ready to follow the other's lead and dodge when something incredible and unexpected happened.

Azul had done a flip to dodge then suddenly zipped behind the akuma. He threw his yoyo at the akuma and caught Hog-nado in it's string then he zoomed around him, wrapping him up and typing him up to attempt to keep him still.

Berde's jaw dropped, his body frozen in place even as his partner lost grip of his yoyo, and Hog-nado escaped. He only managed to snap out of it when he heard Azul strain. He blinked in surprise to see a tornado aiming at his partner. He gasped.

"AZUL!"

He went in front of him and twirled his baton in front of the tornado to oppose it. Azul seemed to notice what he was trying to do and knew that it wasn't going to work unless he had some help. Immediately, the ladybug miraculous holder rubbed his hands together to recreate the speed effect from earlier then he placed his hands on the black cat miraculous holder's shoulder.

Berde's eyes widened as he suddenly glowed electric blue lightning and began to twirl his baton faster and faster until he had made wind strong enough to oppose the tornado. He pushed harder, and the tornado was overpowered, evaporating in an instant. Hog-nado had gotten caught in the strong wind and was blown away to a building. Berde gasped.

"Woah..."

Azul chuckled behind him and slowly pulled away. "Wasn't expecting that now, weren't you?"

Berde turned to him with wide, surprised eyes and a deep blush spreading on his cheeks. Just when he thought that his superhero partner couldn't get any more charming and any more amazing.

"And... you were?"

"No," Azul admitted with a shy grin. "I didn't, but with the akuma attack and everything, you'd expect that anything and everything may happen,"

Well, that was true, Berde will give him that.

"Oh, I---"

But before he could say anything else, there was a boom, and the two turned to see Hog-nado prying himself off from the cement of the building he had crashed on with a snarl. His eyes burnt red as more tornados came from his hat.

"O~kay," Azul Bug hissed and spun his yoyo. "Hog-nado got mad. We need to move. Now,"

Berde nodded and followed after him as they turned to avoid getting hit by the tornados. He was impressed how the other could switch from serious to cocky then back to serious in a minute. It made the ladybug miraculous holder more human than either of them were, given the fact that they were both monster trucks (or at least, Berde assumed that they were both trucks, given that they were both the new superheroes of Axle City, a city full of monster trucks).

He NEEDED to know who his partner was. He couldn't wait to know.

X

X

X

Azul jumped through the city's buildings, heart pounding in his chest as he threw his yoyo to swing. He felt Berde follow behind him, using his baton to use as a pole to jump over and keep up with the pace.

With all honesty, Azul himself wasn't sure how he managed to zoom fast and produce electricity through speed. He was fast as a monster truck, sure, even if he was not as fast as Blaze with his blazing speed, but he didn't know that his quickness would reflect into his human self.

'I wonder if there's anything else from my truck self that I can use in my superhero form...'

The thought was interesting and was surely something he, Tikki and Ezra had to discuss when the city was cured from destruction and when the akuma was dealt with.

"Come on, Berde!" he urged the other, swinging over to where he knew Starla and the Blazing Team were waiting for him and Hog-nado. "Just a few more blocks!"

"Right behind you, Bugaboo!" Berde grinned and did his best to go faster.

Azul swung far-left and found the group immediately. They were the only monster machines left in the city, with everyone else leaving to escape and not get caught in the chaos. He jumped towards them, landing with a flip and a thud.

"You all ready?"

"Ready!" they all nodded, with Starla holding out the apple.

"Good," Azul turned to his partner. "Berde, to that building! Get ready your cataclysm!"

"Aye-aye!" Berde saluted and pounced to the building he was told to go.

Azul took a deep breath then he turned, facing the akuma directly. He threw his yoyo to another building, ready to swing off as Hog-nado prepared to charge, eyes glowing purplish-red with an angry huff.

'5... 4... 3...'

Hog-nado soon let out a roar and zipped towards him.

'2...'

Azul crouched down, preparing to flip and get out of the way. His eyes glowed blue, along with the rest of him.

'1...'

Hog-nado was getting closer and closer, his hat beaming red as a tornado was being prepared But Azul wasn't fazed. Instead, he closed his eyes and waited.

'0...'

Suddenly, he jumped and swung off at top speed, leaving a blue streak from where he used to stand. Starla was now in front of the akuma, holding out the apple bravely as she confronted her pet pig.

"ZIPPY!"

Hog-nado snapped out of his rage and skidded to a stop. He snarled at her, but once he noticed the apple in her tire, his inner pig came out, and he excitedly stared at it, expecting his owner to throw it for him to eat. Starla beamed at the development.

"Here, Zippy," she hovered the apple over. "Want the apple, little guy?"

Hog-nado nodded vigorously, tongue out and panting in hunger. Starla chuckled.

"Sit,"

Hog-nado did as he was told, settling down and sitting on the street. The butterfly-shaped glowing mask appeared as he did so, and he hissed at it, annoyed by the voice of the villain in his head.

From above, Azul noticed the akuma's discomfort and sighed, shaking his head. They NEEDED to get the akuma out fast. Hawkmoth wasn't getting impatient, and his impatience is causing irritation (and possible trauma) for Zippy.

'Come on, Zippy, fight it...'

Finally, after a while, the mask disappeared, and Hog-nado turned back to Starla with his happy, giddy face. The cowgirl truck grinned and set the apple on the ground. Hog-nado squealed and lowered his head to take a bite.

The signal.

Azul threw his yoyo towards the akuma, wrapping the string around Hognado's cowboy hat while the other was distracted. He tugged on the string and yanked it off, allowing it to be tossed into the sky.

"Berde, NOW!"

"On it!" Berde jumped, claw out as he grabbed the cowboy hat and landed by his partner's side. "CATACLYSM!"

Black magic spiraled through his fingers and onto the hat, which turned brown and crumbled into ashes. Said the ashes fell on the ground as the purple corrupted butterfly fluttered out, aiming to escape. Fortunately, Azul had been informed about this already by Tikki and Ezra, and he wasn't going to let the akuma spread around the city any further

.

"No more evil-doing for you little akuma," he lowered his yoyo and spun it around, allowing a glow of electric blue to come out as he threw it at the akuma. "Time to de-evilize!"

He caught it in a flash and took back the yoyo into his hand immediately. "Gotcha!" He pressed the yoyo and let out the now-purified white butterfly, allowing it to fly away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly,"

"Nice work, Bugaboo!" Berde was beaming as he held out a fist.

"Thanks, kitty," Azul smiled and gave in to the fist bump. "You too,"

"Not bad for our first mission together, huh?" Berde let out a chuckle.

"Not bad indeed,"

"ZIPPY! YOU'RE BACK!"

The duo looked down and found Starla embracing her now-cured pig, taking the pig into her tires and hugging him into oblivion as he squealed joyfully at the sight of her. The others congratulated the victory, surrounding their friend happily. Azul sighed at the reunion and swung down to join them, Berde following behind him as they landed beside the group.

"Good job, everyone," the ladybug miraculous holder told them with a smile. "Thank you for the help,"

"Thank you for helping US with that akuma," Blaze said with a smile.

"Yeah!" AJ agreed. "Without your help, who knows what could've happened!"

"The only problem now is rebuilding," Stripes spoke out, motioning to the city, which now had crumbling buildings and wrecked roads.

"Jeepers! I didn't know how bad the damage was," Starla frowned.

"How Zeg and friends gonna fix everything?!" Zeg cried out.

"Don't worry, guys," Azul assured them with a smile. "I've got this,"

He picked up the lucky charm apple on the ground then he threw into air.

"Miraculous... AZUL BUG!"

At once, the apple disappeared into magical, electric ladybugs, which spread around through the city. They went through the destroyed buildings and roads, fixing them in an instant before continuing to fly off to fix the rest of the city. The group gaped in awe as their city was returned back to normal, as if the akuma attack never happened.

"WOW!" Watts gasped. "That was amazing!"

"You saved our city AND fixed it!" Gabby cheered. "Thank you Azul Bug and Chat Berde!"

"Happy to help!" Berde chirped up with a grin.

Beep! Beep!

"Huh?" the black cat miraculous holder looked down at his ring curiously. "What...?"

"It's your timer," Azul told him. "You only have a few minutes before you de-transform, and as you should know, we aren't allowed to reveal who we are,"

"Not even to each other?" Berde whined.

"Nope, not even to each other," Azul used his yoyo to grab Zippy's cowboy hat, which also had been restored in the cure, from the building roof and placing it on the pig's head. "Gotta go before my timer runs out too. Bug out!"

With that, he swung off and away. Berde sighed in defeat then he twirled his baton and turned to the group.

"See you all at another attack!" he waved them goodbye then he jumped off. "BYE!"

X

X

X

"Blast it!" Hawkmoth threw his staff across the forest, hissing in rage. "You won today, Yojimbo, but your heroes' victory will not last long! Azul Bug and Chat Berde may have shone in the spotlight today and saved the city, but I WILL get those miraculouses... even if it means ripping the entire city IN HALF TO DO SO!"

He turned and headed into his plane, detransforming with a snarl. Nooroo flew out and immediately cowered as he floated beside the other.

"M-Master...?"

"Silence, Nooroo."

Magic sealed the butterfly kwami's lips, leaving him to whimper. Gabriel didn't bother to acknowledge him as he made his way to the airplane's computer. He pressed a button on it to get in contact with his assistant.

"Nathalie, change of plans." he spoke. "It seems that I would have to stay here in Axle City a little longer. Yojimbo has taken the ladybug and black cat miraculouses before I was able to take them. This city now has Azul Bug and Chat Berde, the new holders of the miraculouses,"

["What would you like me to tell Adrien?"]

"Tell him that my 'business trip' had been extended, and my trip home had been... delayed," Gabriel let out another hiss. "Make sure that he does not suspect anything else. Neither does Mlle. Dupain-Cheng and their team of Miraculous heroes,"

["Yes, sir,"]

With that, the call ended. Gabriel clenched his fists as he turned and headed to the window of his plane.

He had a plan to take those miraculous. They were in the hands of two boys, strangers to him without the mask. It would be very difficult to track them down in a city of trucks, but it didn't matter to him no longer.

As long as he got the miraculous to save his wife and reunite his family, nothing mattered any more.

X

X

X

"Plagg, Claws In,"

The transformation gave a glow, reverting Berde back to his truck form. Plagg flung out with a tired groan.

"Argh, I need more cheese..." he landed on the bowl of Camembert Ezra left him earlier, munching on the cheese.

Pickle shook his head and closed his window. He let out an exhausted sigh as he made his way to his bed, plopping onto it tiredly. He could hear his kwami munching from nearby, and he turned his head to him.

"Hey, Plagg?"

"Mm?" Plagg raised his head from the Camembert.

"Why can't we reveal our secret identities to each other?"

Plagg stuffed the cheese into his mouth and swallowed before turning to his new holder. "Well, kitten, it's simple. If Hawkmoth were to learn your identities through one another, even if it wasn't intentional, he'd use it his advantage. He'd hurt your family or Azul Bug's family or either of your friends and whatnot. It's risky. That's why you're not allowed,"

"Aw man..." Pickle whimpered. "I really wanted to know who he is..."

"Insta crush, much?"

"Well..." Pickle blushed but grinned. "Maybe..."

"Man, you're just like your predecessor," Plagg groaned. "You both start crushing on the ladybug,"

"Well, can you blame me?" Pickle looked dazed and dreamily as his thoughts focus on the ladybug miraculous holder. "His dashing blue hair, his charming coal black eyes... he's so amazing, so heroic, so..."

He sighed with a slight giggle. Plagg face-palmed at this, lowering himself into his cheese bowl.

This was SO gonna be like his previous Chat Noir...

X

X

X

"Tikki, Spots Off,"

There was a flash, and Tikki flew out. She tiredly lowered herself to the bowl cookies as Azul detransformed into his truck form.

"Thank Ashla it's over," Crusher groaned, closing the window before dragging himself through his apartment.

As he did, he spotted Ezra and Longg on the couch, passed out and sleeping peacefully. Crusher looked over and smiled as he realized that his little brother's injuries were healed thanks to the MIraculous Cure. He gently reached over to stroke the blunet's hair with his tire.

"Rest up, Ez,"

RIIING! RIIING!

Crusher turned to find his phone ringing nearby. He drove over to answer.

"Hello---"

"CRUSHER, WHERE'S EZRA?!"

Crusher yelped at the sound of his younger brother's voice, pulling away from the phone as the stunt truck began to rant, asking the same questions over and over again. He sighed and waited for the other to calm down.

"You done yet?"

"NO!" Darington hissed. "WHERE'S EZRA?!"

"Calm down, Darry, he's here," Crusher turned to his slumbering brother and smiled. "And he's resting. His miraculous form took a a toll on him. He's fine. Just exhausted, that's all,"

A sigh of relief came from the phone. "Oh, thank the Force. Make sure he sleeps regularly and eats enough. I'm calling Zeb to tell him that you have him. I'm also gonna scold at him for not telling us that Ez was coming,"

"Don't think it was planned," Crusher told him. "Ezra was tracking down the miraculouses. They didn't know that they'd end up here,"

"STILL!" Darington growled. "Zeb should've told us that Ezra's gonna go on another solo mission!"

"Fair," Crusher chuckled. "Gotta go rest up for the race tomorrow. Meet up at the park before the race?"

"Done." Darington replied. "It's a great way to introduce Ezra to the others. Rest up! Bye!"

With that, he hung up. Crusher let out a sigh and set his phone down.

"Tikki?"

"Hmm?" Tikki emerged her head from the bowl.

"How long has Ezra worked in Paris?"

"For a while," Tikki flew out and set herself on the shelf. "A few months, by now,"

"I see..." Crusher nodded. "Man, being a miraculous holder is tiring. How does Ezra do it?"

"Practice," Tikki giggled. "Maybe you should take your own advice and rest?"

"Maybe you're right, Tikki," Crusher smiled and let out a yawn before making his way to his bed.


	5. Having Fun And Drama

News of Azul Bug and Chat Berde quickly spread all throughout the world. The kingdom, Velocity Ville, and all around. Every truck were amazed by their work and praised the superheroes for saving Axle City.

Crusher was surprised that, by the next day, the Internet and the News was bursting with messages and praises for Azul Bug and Chat Berde, claiming them to be great heroes and cheering for them. There were even others who were bashing Hawkmoth and his akumas, telling him to back-off and leave their cities and kingdoms alone.

What's more was the websites and blogs created with the limited info about the two miraculous superheroes.

"Ezra, did you create the main blog for Azul Bug and Chat Berde?"

"Maaaybe," Ezra grinned as he sat in front of the TV in his pajamas, a bowl of mashed potatoes on his lap.

"By the Force, Ezra," Crusher slapped a tire on his face and groaned he then turned to Longg and Tikki, who were both on the table beside the blunet and eating their own breakfast. "You two didn't stop him?"

"My queen will do as he pleases," Longg shrugged.

"And can you really stop him?" Tikki raised an eyebrow.

"Fair," Crusher sighed, turning back to his brother. "Well, at least get dressed after breakfast. We're gonna meet up in the park with Pickle, Darington and their friends, so they could meet you,"

"Aw, man," Ezra slumped back, laying down lazily. "but I don't want to meet Mr. Perfect and Athletic... and I wanna stay at home..."

"Wow, a dislike on Blaze already?" Crusher stared at him in surprise. "That's a first,"

"This place is too accepting on goody-four-wheels," Ezra groaned. "Only those who know reality will dislike those like Blaze or Spongebob,"

"Eh, they don't cheat like me, so there's that," Crusher gave a shrug and turned away.

"Doesn't mean they should leave you out of the Blazing Team." Ezra grumbled but lowly, so the other couldn't hear him. "Stupid Blaze and Co. When I tell Mom about this, he is SO kicking their bumpers for it."

X

  
X

  
X

"So, who's this new friend of yours, Darington?" Watts asked as the friends drove through the park.

"New to you guys, but not new to the city," Darington clarified. "He's been here before, and he came for a visit,"

"Is he racin' today?" Starla questioned.

"Up to him," Darington shrugged before coming to a stop. "Oh, hey, Pickle,"

"Hi, Darington!" the green truck greeted with a smile. "You excited to see Ezra?!"

"Yes, and no," Darington let out a groan. "I mean, sure, I missed him, but a little warning before coming here would be nice,"

"Eh, you know him," Pickle laughed.

"Unfortunately," Darington sighed. "Well, when is he and Crusher getting here?"

"Crusher knows him too?" Stripes looked surprised. "He has more than Pickle for a friend?"

"First of all, Stripes, rude," Darington glared at him. "Second, yes, he knows him. We were here in Axle City before the rest of you, remember? We just... hid out and remained in private when we were all younger,"

"Zeg not wait to meet new friend!" Zeg cheered. "Zeg excited!"

"Yeah!" Blaze grinned before noticing something on Pickle. "Oh! Hey, Pickle, is that a new tire ring?"

"Mm-hmm," Pickle nodded, turning his tire a bit to show off the silver ring. "Pretty, right?"

They suddenly heard Crusher's horn from afar, and they turned to see Crusher driving towards them. Pickle beamed and waved at him.

"Hey there, Crusher!"

"Hey, Pickle. Hey, Darington," Crusher greeted with a wave and a calm smile, one that took the others back.

"Um, hi, Crusher," Gabby waved, dismounting from Watts. "Where's the new friend?"

"Might need someone to pry him from the driver's seat," Crusher pointed to himself. "Ezra, get down. Everyone wants to meet,"

"Fine..." A groan from inside echoed through, and the door from the driver's seat opened to reveal a blunet teen with sapphire blue eyes as he wore an orange ensemble. "Hi, everyone, my name's Ezra,"

"Hi, Ezra!" Blaze beamed as he drove forward, tire out to shake. "I'm Blaze, and this is my best friend AJ!" He then turned to others. "And these are the rest of our friends; Stripes, Starla, Watts, Gabby, and Zeg!"

Ezra stared at the red truck from top to bottom before moving back. "Geez, Darry, how are you friends with cheerful trucks? It's weird,"

"He's friendly, Ez," Darington rolled his eyes. "That's the way he is,"

"Life isn't friendly," Ezra pointed out. "Can't you be friends with realistic trucks?"

"NO! Reality stinks!"

"That's why Dad wants us to be more realistic!"

"Um, 'Dad'?" Stripes blinked.

"You never told us that you had brothers," Starla pointed out.

"Eh," Darington shrugged. "What was I gonna say? Oh, hi guys, my name is Darington, and I'm the younger brother of that egotistic cheater by the trash heap of a room in the Monster Dome,"

"Crusher's your brother?!" Everyone's jaw dropped.

"Not by blood," Crusher said. "Darington, Ezra and I are all adopted, but brothers nonetheless,"

"Yeah," Pickle nodded in agreement before his gaze came to Crusher's exhaust pipes. "Woah, are those pipe earrings?"

"A present from Ezra," Crusher gave a shrug.

"Oh! That reminds me," Ezra took out a box from out-of-nowhere and handed it to the stunt truck. "Here, Darry,"

"Yay! Presents!" Darington beamed and took the box, grinning as he took out a new helmet from inside.

"I missed your last birthday, so, yeah, this is to make up for it," Ezra chuckled, folding his arms and leaning against a tree.

"Cool!" Darington admired his helmet before narrowing his eyes. "This isn't stolen, is it?"

"Darry, you know me too well," Ezra smirked. "Of COURSE it's stolen,"

"So will you be racing today?" Pickle asked.

"Oh, definitely," Ezra grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "It's a great way to show Mr. Athletic and Friendly over here what Crusher and I can do. No cheating, of course, but we've got better ways to win, eh, Crusher?"

"Ooh~ THIS I've got to know," Crusher was giddy in excitement.

"It's a simple one," Ezra waved his hand, and a tube appeared in his hand, with an electric quill glowing from within.

"Nic gave you a quill? No way!" Darington gasped.

"Got a deal for helping him plan his wedding to his boyfriend," Ezra laughed. "And he's the fastest hedgehog alive, so, you know, just a warning,"

"We're ready for anything!" Blaze grinned. He loved a little competition. "Right, guys?"

Everyone let out a cheer in response. Only Darington didn't cheer. Instead, he slapped a tire on his face and shook his head. Pickle laughed at Darington's reaction while Crusher seemed excited to use the quill. Ezra smirked at the other's foolishness.

Clearly, the words 'fastest hedgehog' didn't seem to enter their skulls.

X

X

  
X

Gabriel watched as the comments of his alter ego's existence appear on the screen. He didn't really care for the hate. Hawkmoth had haters in Paris since he first made himself public, so he wasn't fazed by the mean comments.

What DID tick him off was the overconfidence of people with their new superheroes.

The battle from the previous day had been filmed through many cameras. The videos were widespread all over the Internet, and the main blog, the Miracu-Blog, had many fans already. It was no doubt that the blog belonged to his son's strange classmate Ezra, with his face being exposed on the first video of the battle, but it made him wonder how the boy managed to film whilst being Yojimbo in battling Hog-nado.

'That boy will never make sense to me.'

Gabriel groaned and turned off the screen with a growl.

"They think that just because Azul Bug and Chat Berde are here to save them that I would give up and back down so easily? Well," he smirked, a glint of evil shimmering through his glasses. "they should think again,"

X

  
X

X

"Leeeet's BLAZE!"

Blaze and AJ zoomed through the track, their blazing speed causing them to speed up and dash. Crusher and Ezra were taking the lead when the duo dashed right past them, stealing the lead.

"Oh no, Blaze and AJ are gonna win!" Crusher whined. "We've got to do something!"

"Don't you worry, big bro," Ezra smirked as he set the tube into his eldest brother's dashboard.

The electric factor of the quill surged all through Crusher's body. The dark blue truck shuddered as he felt himself speed up little by little, the electricity making him glow a bright shade of blue. The glow reached his eyes, which were possessed by the glowing blue power of the quill as his wheels began to turn quicker and quicker until it was like his wheels weren't spinning any longer.

Everyone gasped as Crusher suddenly zoomed through the track. Even Blaze and AJ were amazed, eyes widening as their rival zipped past them and towards the finish line.

"And the winner is... CRUSHER!"

The crowd cheered as Crusher sped to receive the trophy. He beamed and waved to the crowd.

"Thank you, everyone!" he said. "But I didn't do this alone!"

The door to his driver's seat swung open, and Ezra came out, flickering his hair dramatically before waving at everyone. The crowd grew quiet for a moment before releasing another cheer. The announcer gasped.

"It's... It's Ezra!" he cried out. "Ladies and gentle-trucks, Team Blueberry is BACK!"

Ezra chuckled. "Yep, I'm back. The ol' blueberry team is back and rocking!"

"Team Blueberry?" Blaze raised an eyebrow, approaching them curiously. "Crusher, you never said you had a driver before,"

"Eh," Crusher chuckled. "been so long that I forgot,"

"That was intense!" AJ laughed. "How'd you two go so fast?"

"Warned you that the quill came from the fastest hedgehog alive," Ezra grinned.

"WOW!" Pickle squealed as he jumped towards the others, beaming. "That was AWESOME, Crusher, Ezra!"

"Nice one, bros!" Darington squeezed the two into a hug. "I miss our brother-bonding races!"

Crusher and Ezra laughed, squirming in their brother's hold and pretending to get annoyed as the other racers finished the race then came to join them and congratulate the two on their victory. Neither of them were too occupied to notice the dark akuma fluttering into the crowd...

X

  
X

  
X

"Yes..." Hawkmoth smirked as he felt the burning rage of one of the audience in the race. "Get to her, little akuma. Evilize that being! Bend her to my will!"

The akuma entered a pompom, and the butterfly-shaped glowing mask appeared on his face. He grinned and looked forward, through the connection and towards his new victim.

"Cheerleader, I am Hawkmoth," he spoke. "The one who you assumed to win had surrendered himself to the one who cheats. What a disgrace. I am giving you the power to take down the unworthy champion, and anyone else who stands in your way. And in return, all I ask for is Azul Bug and Chat Berde's miraculouses!"

["Time to cheer and win!"] the akuma took over the girl, corrupting her little by little with it's dark goo...

X

  
X

  
X

"AAAAAH!"

The group jumped as they heard everyone scream and drove away. They turned to see why they were screaming and gasped to see an akuma; an indigo monster truck cheerleader with blood red pompoms as she used her long pigtails to hover over everyone.

"I am Cheerleader!" she scowled. "And I only cheer and spare those who deserve them! Get ready to fall, cheaters!"

'Well, kriff this.' Crusher hissed, knowing he had to transform immediately, so, to not make everyone suspicious since they knew that he was a scaredy-truck, he took off, screaming. "AAAAH!"

He drove through the crowd of frightened monster trucks and out of the Monster Dome. He headed to an alley way and stopped screaming then he made sure he was hidden in the darkness before opening his inventing pouch. Tikki flew out immediately, moving to his side to hide in case anyone else saw them.

Once he knew the coast was clear, he let out a sigh. "Alright, time to silence the cheer out of this cheerleader. Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

X

  
X

  
X

Pickle watched as his best friend drove off. To him, his best friend was just scared, as usual, so he acted too and left. He drove through the entrance and headed off to transform when he caught sight of Azul Bug dashing towards the Dome. He skidded to a stop and dazily watched his idol/crush.

"Wow..." he sighed dreamily. "It hasn't been 2 minutes, and Azul Bug's already here~"

"Hey, kitten, get your head out of the clouds!" Plagg flew out from Pickle's trunk. "Don't you need to help?"

"Oh! Right!" Pickle turned to drive to another alleyway, past the panicking trucks. "Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

X

  
X

  
X

"Everyone, to the exit!" Blaze called out as he, AJ and their friends guided the rest of the crowd out to escape. "Drive carefully and head to your houses immediately!"

Only Ezra didn't move. He stared up at the akuma calmly, sipping on juice. His camera drone was on invisible mode as he filmed the whole thing, calmly watching Azul Bug battle the crazy akuma. Darington spotted him and sighed, rolling his eyes.

Of COURSE, his brother would see this as a natural phenomenon. How many universes, timelines and dimensions that he had visited already were just as chaotic as this?

"Ezra!" the stunt truck turned to see AJ and Blaze ready to drive to 'save' the blunet. "Get out of the way---"

"Blaze, AJ, no,"

He quickly stopped the truck before he could do anything. The red truck and his driver stared at him, horrified.

"What do you mean 'no'?!" AJ cried out. "Aren't you gonna save your brother?!"

"Saving him from his own stupidity is the same as stopping me from my own stunts," Darington chuckled. "Not possible,"

"What do you---"

"Can you two shush?" Ezra scolded, waving at them to be quiet. "I'm trying to film this for the Miracu-blog,"

"Can you do it while being safe?" Darington nagged.

Ezra shrugged and flicked his hand. A helmet appeared on his head before he turned back to film. Darington sighed.

"Good enough, I guess,"

"Yeah, now shush," Ezra gave a shushing motion. "I gotta film!"

Blaze and AJ exchanged confused and shocked faces. They turned to Darington, who shrugged.

"He's faced worse," he just said.

Ezra smirked and continued to film in peace. He watched as Berde joined the battle, partly-flirting with Azul, partly-fighting the akuma. The blunet sighed.

'This feels familiar... stupid de ja vu Love Square...'

X

  
X

  
X

"LUCKY CHARM!"

Electric blue ladybugs sprung into the air, magically creating a black-spotted blue trumpet. The trumpet fell into Azul's hands.

"What in the name of...?" Azul face-palmed. "I'm not even sure how 'lucky' is this charm anymore,"

"Cool!" Berde jumped over from fighting, glancing at the trumpet. "Are we gonna form a band?! Or a parade?!"

"No! We--- wait," Azul looked around, his vision darkening.

He spotted three things, though; the trumpet, Berde's baton and his yoyo. He thought about it for a moment before grinning.

"I got a plan," he tied his yoyo to his wrist and turned to his partner. "Berde, do you know how to twirl your baton?"

"Well, yeah," Berde did just that, a smirk on his face. "Ta-da!"

Azul chuckled, rolling his eyes before handing the trumpet. "Alright, I got it. Now, I've got a plan, and it has something to do with leading a parade,"

"YASSS!" Berde cheered, twirling his baton and gripping the trumpet with his other hand before jumping down. "Hey, Cheerleader! Over here!"

"ARGH!" the akuma snarled, eyes burning sickly green as she aimed her pompom at the black cat miraculous holder.

The said pompom released a few spikes, firing at the blonde superhero. Berde jumped out of the way and smirked. He twirled his baton again, throwing it up into the air.

"And... MARCH!" he proceeded to march, twirling his baton around and blowing against the trumpet as he went forward and back. "March, 2, 3 ,4! March, 2, 3, 4!"

"...what?" Cheerleader looked confused.

Azul took the distraction as an opportunity and threw his yoyo at the akuma's tire, snatching it to hold her back. Cheerleader snarled, turning to him, but before she could say anything, the ladybug miraculous holder quickly zipped around her, tying her up in the yoyo's string.

"GAH!" she hissed. "Release me, Azul Bug!"

"Nah, that's doom for us," Azul quickly tied a double not then he kicked the spiky pompom off her tire. "Berde, cataclysm!"

"As you wish, Bugaboo," Berde dropped the trumpet and his baton then he jumped, claws glowing black. "CATACLYSM!"

His claws touched the pompom, and it disintegrated into ashes in an instant. The akuma flew out from the remains, and Azul grabbed it with his yoyo before it could escape.

"Gotcha!" he sighed in relief and pressed on his yoyo, releasing the purfied butterfly. "Bye, little butterfly,"

"Great job, partner!" Berde grinned, lifting a fist. "Pound it?"

Azul smiled and nodded, connecting their fists together. He then turned to grab the trumpet and threw it to the air.

"Miraculous... AZUL BUG!"

The trumpet evaporated into magical, electric ladybugs, speeding all through the Monster Dome and repairing it. They flew out as well, fixing whatever other damage that the akuma did before disappearing into air.

"Well, at least that's over," Azul wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Nice job, Azul!"

He froze and slowly turned to see Ezra with a group of excited, frantic fan trucks. The blunet had a smug look on his face as he stepped back to let the fan trucks swarm towards the superheroes. Berde shrieked and held onto Azul, who grabbed and carried him by instinct while his eyes widened in horror.

"Azul Bug!"

"Chat Berde!"

"THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!"

"YOU TWO ARE OUR HEROES!"

"CAN I HAVE AN AUTOGRAPH?!"

"CAN YOU SIGN MY BOOK?!"

"ARE YOU TWO DATING?!"

Berde snorted at that. "Ha! I wish,"

Azul growled, causing the other to shut his mouth. He dropped his partner on the ground then he turned away and spun his yoyo.

"First off," he turned his head back to the crowd. "NO, we aren't dating. We LITERALLY just met yesterday, and there's no such thing as love at first sight,"

"How about love at first fight?!" one of the trucks asked.

"No such thing either," Azul shook his head. "Second, we're honored to fight for you all, and we promise you that we won't rest until Hawkmoth is gone, and his miraculous is confiscated for the good of the world,"

The crowd cheered. Berde jumped to his feet and let out his own cheer.

"Yeah!" he beamed. "You go, Bugaboo!"

"Yeah, yeah," Azul threw his yoyo up. "Now, if there are no more questions, I must leave before my timer runs out. You too, kitty,"

"Oh, right," Berde sighed and twirled his baton to leave. "See ya next time, M'Lady!"

Azul froze mid-jump. A deep blush crossed his cheeks as the trucks squealed. He hissed and turned to scold his partner, but the black miraculous holder had already left. He sighed and shook his head.

"Stupid cat..." he grumbled before swinging away.

X

  
X

  
X

"WOW!" Pickle exclaimed as he watched the video from the Miracu-Blog. "Azul Bug and Chat Berde are SO cool! Especially Azul Bug!"

"Not really..." Crusher groaned. He was still pissed with what Berde said to his alter ego, and he was NOT hiding it. "They're a bunch of superhero-wannabes,"

"Crusher, they're AMAZING heroes!" Pickle defended. "How could you say such a thing?!"

"Chat Berde's a flirt," Crusher pointed to the video. "And Azul Bug? He's a stupid wannabe who thinks he's so great and heroic! Pssh, not true! I can be a better hero than he can ever be!"

"Didn't... you run from the akuma earlier?" Pickle raised an eyebrow.

"The akuma was after me," Crusher shrugged. "What did you expect?"

"Still," Pickle shook his head. "Azul Bug is an AMAZING superhero!"

"He's the WORST!" Crusher roared out. "If he's SO amazing then he should be going after Hawkmoth and bringing him to justice! Right now! What does he even do on his spare times?!"

"Even heroes need a rest!" Pickle argued.

"Woah, woah," Blaze came in between them as he and his friends drove towards them. "Take it easy, you two,"

"Are you two okay?" AJ asked. "We've never seen you two argue like this,"

"Crusher's insulting Azul Bug!" Pickle cried out. "What if he stops helping us once we insult him?"

"Pssh, if he was a real hero then he'll help no matter what," Crusher huffed. "No matter the haters,"

"Ya're just jealous that you'll never be a hero as good as Azul Bug," Starla scoffed.

"Yuck, never compare me to Azul Bug," Crusher gagged. "I'm BETTER!"

"Yeah, you wish," Stripes snickered. "No one can be as amazing as Azul Bug,"

"Yeah," Watts agreed. "He and Chat Berde are amazing!"

"Superheroes are amazing!" Zeg nodded vigorously. "They save Axle City twice from akuma!"

"Pssh, so what?" Crusher huffed and turned to drive away. "I can be better than they could ever be!"

Darington watched him take his leave. He took a deep breath and proceeded to drive after him.

"I'll be back, guys. I just need to handle something,"

X

  
X

  
X

"CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAID?!"

Ezra sighed as he held a box of tissues. Crusher was curled up by the corner of his apartment living room, hugging himself with his tires as he bawled his eyes out and trembled. Tikki was by his side, rubbing his comfortingly.

"Aww, it's okay, Crusher," she soothed. "I'm sure they didn't---"

"They DID!" Crusher wailed. "They ALWAYS MEAN IT!"

"You just insulted Azul Bug and Chat Berde," Ezra pointed out. "I am thoroughly concerned on that, by the way. Why did you insult yourself?"

"Best way to hide, I guess," Crusher sniffled. "And the only chance I have for insulting myself indirectly,"

"Ugh..." Ezra face-palmed. "Why am I even surprised?"

"Do you know what's worse?" Crusher whimpered. "Pickle sided with them. Not with me, like he usually does. It just... I feel kinda... hurt,"

Ezra's expression softened as he waited for his big brother to straighten up and open up. It was normal for the dark blue truck to open up to the family, him mostly. If he didn't have anyone to vent to, who knew what would happen to him?

It took an hour at the latest, with Ezra acknowledging Darington as he came into the apartment a few minutes after the venting started, but neither of them said a word to disrupt their brother. Tikki hid from the stunt truck and went to her holder's inventing pouch. After the hour, Crusher finally took notice of his younger brother and wiped his tears.

"What do you want, Darry?"

"You know, even I'm surprised that Pickle didn't side with you," Darington chuckled. "Even when Blaze does the right thing, he usually sides with you,"

"Yeah, don't need to rub it in," Crusher hissed before getting up to drive away to his room.

"Eh, you tried," Ezra patted a disappointed Darington. "Can't really do anything but give him some air,"

"Yeah, I guess," Darington sighed. "By the way, do you know who Azul Bug and Chat Berde are?"

"Why would you think that I would know who they are?"

"YOU are Yojimbo," Darington dead-panned. "Also, I'm not an idiot,"

"Better if you don't know," Ezra told him. "For your own safety. You CAN meet my kwami, if you like,"

"I think... that would be fair," Darington nodded. "What about Crusher?"

"He needs to vent, and his room is a haven," Ezra offered his brother a smile. "He'll be fine. Trust me,"

"Alright," Darington returned the smile. "I trust you, lil' bro,"

X

  
X

  
X

"I can't BELIEVE the nerve of that big fella," Pickle groaned as he drove back to his apartment. "I mean, can you believe what he said about Azul Bug?!"

"Kitten, if there are supporters, then there are always haters to follow along," Plagg shrugged as he floated beside the green truck and munched on the cheese in his hands. 'Or a holder with the lowest self-esteem ever. I feel bad for Sugarcube handling another holder with a low self-esteem.'

"I just... I can't believe that we argued over... superheroes," Pickle sighed. "We've had some disagreements, but one of us usually backs down to avoid a huge conflict,"

"Yeah, yeah," Plagg half-listened to his holder vent. "Arguments are normal. You two are best friends, right?"

"Yeah... we are," Pickle nodded. "Are arguments normal between best friends?"

"Uh, yeah," Plagg sighed, turning to him. "Look, Kitten, best friends aren't always happy-go-lucky. They have disagreements, they have fights, and they get mad and hurt. It's natural,"

"Even if it is, I don't like it," Pickle frowned, heading up to his apartment and shutting the door behind him. "It makes me feel that... that our friendship's falling apart,"

"Eh," Plagg gave another shrug. "I'm not the one to give advice, that's usually the job of Azul Bug's kwami, but I DO know that fighting can make a relationship stronger, platonic or not,"

"I'll take your word on that, I guess," Pickle looked doubtful as he made his way to the window. "For now, I need to vent out more,"

"By taking a patrol?" Plagg let out a groan before grumbling. "Of COURSE that's what you holders plan every time there's a problem..."

Pickle chuckled at the kwami's reaction. He opened the window and held out his tire ring.

"Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

X

  
X

  
X

"Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

With a flash, Azul transformed and dashed out of his bedroom window. He used his yoyo to swing across the rooftops, moving further and further away from his apartment and away from his brothers. He wiped his eyes as he swung, sniffling his tears as he made his way to the rooftop of the clocktower of Axle City. He stopped swinging and sat down, leaning his head back on the roof with a shaky sigh.

"By the Will of Ashla..." he set his yoyo down and held himself, trying to not breakdown again. "Oh Force, give me strength..."

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He didn't want to attract an akuma, he knew better than to do that (though it could give him another chance to capture it before it akumatized anyone else). He closed his eyes and concentrated on his emotions, trying his best to tame them, collect them before they escaped and attracted any trouble.

He was so focused that he failed to hear his superhero partner arrive at the clocktower to greet him.

X

  
X

  
X

"WAHOO!" Berde cheered as he jumped across the rooftops.

Going out on a superhero patrol was going to be his new way of venting out, that's for sure. It was relaxing, relieving and it was a healthy way for him to scream out his emotions and let it all out. The air was crisp, warm and relaxing as he jumped through it with his baton.

"Man, I could get USED to this!" he let out a relaxed sigh, stopping by a roof vent to lean over and relax. "Just me and the wind!"

He was about to close his eyes to rest when he saw a familiar figure swing by. His eyes lit up, straightening up with a beam.

"AZUL!" he proceeded to run after the ladybug miraculous holder. "Hey, Bugaboo!~"

He followed his partner to the clocktower. He watched the other disappear to the roof and jumped up after him. He landed on the roof with a thud, tail flickering giddily to match his beaming smile.

"Hey there, M'Lady!" he purred with a bow. "How are you this fine afternoon?"

His greeting fell into deaf ears. He looked up to investigate, and his ears drooped at the sight, eyes widening in horror. Azul was leaning against the roof of the tower, holding himself with both arms, his whole body trembling while he tried his hardest not to cry. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was about to breakdown, murmuring under his breath.

"B-Bugaboo?"

Azul still didn't react. Berde frowned and slowly approached his partner. He held his hand out to reach out for him as he called out again.

"Azul?"

The last call finally snapped the ladybug miraculous holder. His eyes snapped open, and he gasped.

"B-Berde?"

Berde sighed in relief. He went on his knees and slowly reached out for his partner.

"You okay, Azul?" he asked, both hands on the other's shoulder.

"I..." Azul sighed and shuddered. "I'm fine, kitty. Just... have something in my mind, that's all,"

"Really?" Berde moved to sit beside him. "Wow, I... I'm sorry, I didn't---"

"It's fine," Azul waved him off. "It's okay, Berde. Sorry if I alarmed you,"

"It's alright," Berde smiled up at him. "You know, I came out to vent too,"

"Really?" Azul stared at him in surprise. "You?"

"Yep!" Berde sighed. "My best friend and I got into a fight,"

"Ouch," Azul grimaced. "Really? What happened?"

"He... He was being his brash and proud self," Berde hissed. "Usually, I wouldn't mind, but today, he was just being so... grr, so MEAN! It made me go.. argh!"

Azul's eyebrows shot up. "Woah. What did he do to make you mad so much?"

"He called us wanna-bes," Berde growled. "He INSULTED us when we worked SO hard to fight that akuma!"

"Oh shoot, really?" Azul felt nostalgia for a moment before shaking his head. "Your best friend's an idiot,"

"A real pain in the ass, but," Berde let out a sigh. "he's still my best friend. I don't wanna give him up. How about you?"

"Kinda the same," Azul turned away and hugged himself again. "Not really a fight, but I said something that hurt him. Everyone else got involved, and they insulted me, mocking me that I'd never be a great hero and that I'm just dreaming for the impossible,"

THAT got Berde's attention. He shot up and turned to him in shock.

"WHAT?!" he clenched his fists and growled. "How DARE they insult you like that?!"

"It's at my civilian self," Azul told him. "I'm not exactly... athletic as an ordinary being,"

"Still," Berde huffed. "Anyone and everyone can be heroes,"

"Berde, please," Azul shook his head. "Do you know what's worse?"

"There isn't anything worse than tha---"

"My best friend turned on me,"

Berde clamped his mouth shut, eyes wide and caught off-guard. Apparently, he was wrong.

"What do you... how?"

"Usually, he'd side with me," Azul said. "He'd always see the bright side to whatever I was doing and side with me. Today, however, he said nothing to defend me. He did nothing to defend me. He just watched me leave while I tried to hide my hurt,"

"Oh god," Berde had to hold himself back from growling and snarling. "I know my best friend was an idiot, but yours is a complete ass!"

"First of all, language. Second, it's fine," Azul waved him off and laid back. "I'm fine, Berde. I just... need air to breathe, okay? And some space away from those idiots,"

"Good idea," Berde chuckled. "May I... keep you company?"

"You're already here," Azul giggled. "It would be rude to turn you away,"

Berde's eyes lit up. He sat back and leaned gently against the other, head slowly falling on his partner's shoulder. Azul was surprised, but he didn't turn away or push him off. He simply smiled wider and leaned his head on the other, closing his eyes to relax.

Being a superhero had it's hardwork, but at least, they had this time... to relax.

X

  
X

  
X

"See ya tomorrow at the race, Darry,"

"See ya, Ez. Take care of him, Longg," Darington waved as he headed to the door. "And tell Crush that I apologize in behalf of my friends for everything they said,"

"Yeah, yeah, I will," Ezra nodded and waved his brother off.

"And I will care for my queen," Longg gave a bow.

As soon as the stunt truck left, the blunet heard a murmur from his eldest brother's room, followed by sparkling magic of detransformation. He let out a sigh.

"Longg, I already brought out some food for you and Tikki. Why don't you start up on your dinner?"

"As you wish, my queen," Longg nodded. "You will eat as well, right? Your brother wishes for you to be well, and it is my duty to care for you as you care for me,"

"I will, when Crusher joins me," Ezra told him with a smile. "Now go. I'll send Tikki out later,"

Longg gave a nod before flying off to the kitchen. Ezra sighed and walked over to his big brother's room. He knocked on the door gently.

"Crush? You there?"

"Mm-hmm," the muffled yet calmer voice of his brother came from inside, and the door opened to reveal the dark blue truck, who looked a little better than earlier. "I'm here, I'm here,"

"That's good," Ezra turned to Tikki, who was floating beside the other. "Tikki, you should join Longg on your dinner. Big bro and I need to talk,"

"Okay," Tikki nodded then flew off, leaving the brothers alone.

A tense silence came between them as the kwami left. Crusher stared down on the ground, twiddling with his tires. Ezra had his arms folded, but his eyes were also on the ground. Both brothers refused to look at each other, hesitant to either start a conversation, any conversation, really, or bring up the issue and let it slide as soon as it was discussed.

Well, IF one of them was gonna bring it up to discuss it.

"Crush," Ezra finally sighed, leaning against the wall. "if hiding you secret identity by talking yourself down is your way to hide then I think we should reconsider Dad turning down the therapist,"

"I... I was just telling the truth," Crusher let out a shaky breath. "I'm no hero, and neither you nor Berde can change my mind,"

"Ah, Berde was on a patrol with you?" Ezra grinned. "How romantic!"

"Ez, I only met him," Crusher reasoned out. "And you know that I already have a crush, and... and despite what happened today, my feelings haven't changed,"

"Apparently so," Ezra shook his head. "Come on, big guy, let's go get some dinner with the kwamis,"

"Okay," Crusher smiled.

They headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. Longg and Tikki were already munching on their own food, leaving the two to eat the dinner that Ezra and Darington made while chatting earlier. As they did, Ezra looked up at the other before clearing his throat.

"Darington wants to apologize in behalf of his friends,"

"Wish it worked that way," Crusher grumbled. "Starla, Watts, Stripes and Zeg were the ones to speak out. If they really want an apology then they'll say it themselves,"

"Fair," Ezra chuckled and took out his phone to message their brother.

The sooner solved this, the better.

X

  
X

  
X

Pickle leaned back against the tree with a sigh. He had arrived at the park earlier that morning, right before sunrise, sleepless from the thoughts that lingered around him the other day.

He and Azul Bug has stayed on the roof until sunset. Azul had to head home and left him in the tower. It gave him the chance to think about everything they talked about.

If he was honest, he thought that Azul's civilian best friend and him were beginning to sound alike. He had argued with Crusher, something that they had tried to avoid, and when the other monster machines joined in and had said some... mean things to his best friend to defend Azul Bug and Chat Berde, he didn't do anything.

He didn't defend HIM, his best friend for as long as he could remember. Sure, what Crusher said was equally mean, but what he had said was to AZUL BUG AND CHAT BERDE, not to them. It wasn't right for them to insult him when he hadn't said anything about them (yet).

It made him feel guilty, and that guilt made his stomach churn and curl up. That guilt refused to make him sleep, so he decided to leave.

And no, he didn't take Plagg with him because he knew that the kwami was gonna make him feel guiltier than he already felt.

"Hey,"

Pickle froze at the voice that knocked him out from his thoughts. He turned to find himself facing the dark blue truck. He had a soft, shy smile on his face, an expression that he rarely showed and would mostly show to his family than to anyone else as he drove towards him, slowly and hesitantly.

"Oh," the green truck felt the guilt hit him again as he turned away. "What brings you here so early?"

"Insomnia,"

Right. Pickle forgot about that. Apparently, Crusher and his adoptive family all had insomnia. Crusher could sleep when it's usually light out since he loved the darkness, like a nocturnal animal, but those were rare times. Crusher barely sleeps. He mostly races through late night races to keep himself occupied all through the night.

It was a miracle that the dark blue truck was still able to go around in the day time and race. Then again, Darington could still do stunts, so he guessed that it would make sense.

"O-Oh! Right..." Pickle cleared his throat.

"So..." Crusher gulped, trying to find the right words to say. "what brings you out here so early?"

"Um..." Pickle bit his bottom lip. "guilt?"

"What?" Crusher was confused, tilting his head. "On what?"

"I..." Pickle sighed. "Our fight. Sorry, I... I don't know why I took our fight yesterday so seriously,"

"I insulted Azul Bug first," Crusher admitted.

"Doesn't mean I should've reacted like that," Pickle shrugged. "You've insulted Blaze and AJ before. I... I just felt so defensive since the superheroes are risking their lives to save ours,"

"Never thought of it that way," Crusher chuckled as he was close to the other. "This spot taken?"

"Nope, go ahead," Pickle smiled and moved over to let the other drive by him.

The stayed there, under the tree, staring at the sunrise. Pickle felt nostalgic, as did Crusher, neither of them knowing each other's feelings as they watched the beautiful view in front of them, like how their alter egos watched the sunset the say before...


End file.
